


The Governess

by Laurabella2930



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gen, Happy Ending, Jane Eyre - Freeform, Romantic Angst, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-08-14 00:33:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 76,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7992025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurabella2930/pseuds/Laurabella2930
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak is a 22 year old Governess for the newly orphaned Thea Meryln. Thea's caregiver is the mysterious lord of Thornfield manor Oliver Queen. Based on the amazing novel by Charlotte Bronte "Jane Eyre" inspired this prompt from @lalawo1</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

The wind of the day swirled around her slender legs before it’s cold embrace swirled upwards past her neck. She untucked her coat collar to block the chill while quietly remembering a line from “Jane Eyre”. A smooth career was all she wanted after loosing out on the carefree childhood that most people often enjoyed. 

Her aunt was a horrible, strict woman whose eldest son made her every waking moments bleak and miserable. From the age of ten Felicity had her mind, body and soul tested in ways that most people only realize exist once they’ve made the horrid journey to adulthood. Those memories continued to taunt her dreams even now as she stood before the prep academy of her newest charge. 

The name of her student was secondary to the knots that she felt forming once more within the pit of her nerve wrecked stomach. Her pupil or nightmare as Felicity had silently come to call her was a spirited child who suffered from a fairly indulgent caregiver. Thea was her name and with the last name of Merlyn most people felt free to draw their own conclusions. Her upbringing was shrouded in mysteries and double meanings. All Lyla would ever convey was the tabloid bi-lines. Billionaire takes in orphaned sister of his former best friend. Nothing beyond the superficial words was ever given nor would Felicity ever dare to ask; her childhood was complicated and so was Thea’s Her attentions were once again diverted as the wind carried the soft if not somewhat enchanting voice of her often wayward pupil. There she stood with her slender fingers over the large rod iron knob. Her long brown tendrils blew across her thin face with an ease that seemed almost practiced. She smiled curtly which made Felicity smirk before turning on her black heel and running rapidly down the small flight of stairs.  Felicity smiled as her student came bounding happily down the gray stone stairs of Thornfield prep. “Lissy!” she called brightly from the third step. “You said you’d be here at 2 and it’s already 2:15!” 

Despite her best, most honest intentions the girl had begun to grow on her. Yes she was a challenge and, yes her overall demeanor could leave one’s nerves shattered but something about her soul made Felicity’s heart warm. Thea had been born in a dream. She came from wealth and privilege, had up until their demise two parents whose soul concern was themselves which left their daughter free to explore the boundaries of youth with no inhibition. Yes she’d had the dream Felicity often repeated quietly to herself as she walked the boundaries of her caregiver’s estate. She’d had the dream only to watch helplessly as it all fell away.  The only other person in Thea’s orbit who like Felicity seemed to care for her as more than a means to end was Raisa. Raisa was her nurse since infancy and still retained her job as the household maid now that Felicity had taken over the young woman’s education. 

Her foot was on the last step when Felicity finally gave her a light reply. “I was delayed Thea it was unavoidable.” 

Thea’s shoulders scrunched up into her signature shrug before they fell with a harsh thud. “Fine but that snooty lady called the headmaster when I was left standing here without my governess.” 

Felicity rolled her eyes calmly and reached out the take the soon to be discarded shoulder bag. “That snooty woman is your benefactor’s house manager and I do believe you know her name.” 

Thea’s lips formed a tight oh as she loudly exhaled, “She doesn’t like me and she’s old.” 

Felicity took Thea’s complaints easily since they never seemed to change. “Lyla is a kind, young woman who’s been able to mange Mr. Queen’s estate to near perfection Thea.” 

Her charge once more huffed but sill took the hand offered to her while Felicity checked the busy street for oncoming cars. “Fine so what held you up this time?” 

“I was speaking with your French tudor….” she let her voice fall flat as Thea’s body froze. 

“It’s not my fault Lissy this time I swear!” 

Felicity pulled her forward and towards the waiting towncar. “You refusing to do the lesson plan is your fault but his attitude about your intelligence is his own but still Mr. Queen…” 

“I know Lissy, I know. I’ll apologize for my outburst in our next session deal?” 

Felicity gave her smaller hand a slight squeeze, “Deal now let’s get you home before both Raisa and Lyla send the national guard okay?” 

Her charge nodded easily before tilting her head and slipping past the open back door. Felicity checked the grounds once more. Once she saw no missing book or paper she too climbed into the waiting town car and firmly shut the door. 

* * *

Days would turn to weeks as they quickly shifted into months. Felicity’s bond with Thea grew with each day that passed, as did her bond with the home’s few residents. Each day was spent stuck in the same humdrum routine. Felicity would rise moments before the sun crested over the snow covered grounds. She’d stretch her tired, sleep craving muscles before peaking out towards the nearly drawn drapes of her small but well appointed room. Seconds later she’d slip the alarm to silent as the small sliver of light began to creep into the once darkened room. Her small yawns soon turned into exasperated sighs when Thea’s own alarm began to sound. 

She’d then mumble, “Every morning she does this…” before snatching the robe off the unused half of the bed. Once the belt was fastened tightly she’d casually knock on their adjourning doors and call out, “Breakfast is in thirty minutes and no that’s not negotiable.” 

Thea’s alarm would fall silent just before her sleep heavy voice grumbled out, “I truly loathe you in the morning.” 

Yes her days were filled with the trails of everyday life. Thea would be driven to Thornfield as she complained about the tasks of her day to which Felicity would simply nod as she threw out the occasional “Yeah” or even “Hmmm”. Thea never seemed to notice since she prattled on without pause. Once their goodbyes had been said she’d check her buzzing phone for the list of tasks that Lyla had assigned for the day. She’d do what she could to assist with the running of the household while checking her pupils progress during the day. Each private tudor had her on speed dial for those moments when Thea chose to show her true mental age. 

Today however her day had begun differently. For once it wasn’t her alarm breaking her fitful sleep but instead the insistent hands of the housekeeper. Felicity peaked an eye open and glared, “Lyla? What are you doing?” 

Lila smoothed out the wrinkled sheets over her bared shoulders and whispered, “Thea’s taken ill, I’m recommending a small holiday from her studies.” 

Felicity’s brows furrowed, “She was fine at dinner last night Lyla.” 

“Agreed but she needs a break….” she hinted with a pointed head tilt towards the other still oddly silent room. 

Felicity caught the true nature of her request and smiled, “Fine have you contacted the school?” 

“Yes,” she smiled smugly. 

Felicity shook her head and rolled until her face was buried in her pillow. “One day but she’s going back tomorrow.” 

She heard Lyla’s laugh of gratitude as she said, “Get some rest I’ll see you later this afternoon.” 

Felicity laughed in kind before rolling onto her other side and scrunching her knees up to her chest. Moments later the world was silent and dark as sleep once more overtook her. 

* * *

“Lyla, honestly let me take the mail for you,” Felicity nearly begged from her seat at the kitchen counter. “I could use the fresh air!” she added as Lyla turned with two steaming pies, one in each gloved hand. 

“It can wait but if you’re truly that bored…” she joked, “Then I’d be very grateful.” 

Felicity downed the last of her water and popped off the stool then bounded towards the outgoing mail holder by the side door. “I’ll be back in a while!” she exclaimed. She then rushed past Raisa’s smiling face and placed a soft kiss to Thea’s confused brow, “Don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone,” she winked before tapping Thea’s nose with her index finger. Thea’s body shook with laughter as Felicity’s fingers landed happily on the door. 

“Have fun Lissy!” she called out right before the door fell shut. 

Cold it seemed was this miserable places only consistent temperature Felicity silently mused as she moved the hood up and over her chilled head. Lyla would have insisted she take the towncar but with tending to Thea and then helping with the running of the mostly barren estate Felicity wasn’t about to hasten her errand. She’d politely rejected her offer and instead chose to walk the three short miles into the nearby town’s small post office. 

* * *

The snow crunched beneath her snug, black faux fur covered boots. The ground was rough and uneven as she traveled down the long, winding gravel drive that led to the small walkway into town. It was nearing late afternoon she suspected since her shadow seemed to loom before her as the sun began to set. One mile in she felt the chill of the air pushing past her thin pants, until it seemed to settle into her bones. She shivered grumbling, “Stupid winter,” while increasing her pace towards town. 

She was halfway through her second mile when much to her immediate surprise she saw something out of her beloved “Jane Eyre” novel. The horse’s coat was dark, almost foreboding in both nature and color as the black spec grew closer. She had to squint in order to make out the slumped over form of the rider astride the steed. She moved faster, her pace increasing as the slumped form neared. 

Once she felt she was close enough for the slumped form to hear her she timidly reached out a hand to steady the giant horse and asked, “Are..are you okay?” 

Felicity let her eyes wonder over the man’s form. His broad shoulders were clearly outlined by the thick coat. His hands were covered with black leather gloves but what wasn’t hidden was the tight grimace across his full lips. She asked again, “Can you hear me? Do you need assistance?” She herself even squirmed at her last choice of words as the horse’s head rose up and down causing a slight ache in her slender arm. 

He groaned after a few more moments of painful silence. “Please stand aside.” 

Felicity obeyed almost instantly and nearly tripped over the strangers other traveling companion. She glanced down to find what she suspected must have been the first spec she seen from a distance. “Hello you,” she whispered while the smaller traveler used his nose to push her legs back towards his injured owner. Felicity glanced up as the rider tried to dismount and noted the ginger way he held his injured leg. “Sir if you’re hurt and require assistance I can find someone from the manor up the road or even from the town that you just rode through.” 

She swore he frowned but she kept silent as he labored to maintain his injured gait. His hound however had other ideas as his loud, forceful howl broke through the cold evening air. 

The rider yelled out in practiced control, “Down Pilot!” The dog immediately went silent stunning Felicity while also impressing her as well. He struggled once more and groaned, “Ugh!” when he again couldn’t manage to dismount from his mighty steed. 

“Honestly sir I live just up the way at Thornfield Hall I’d be more than happy to fetch someone who could further assist you.” 

The stranger finally turned giving Felicity a full glimpse of his shockingly handsome face. His sharp jaw and chiseled face told of youth that was lost but also spoke of age that he had yet to attain. She guessed his age was close to 35 but she was never really gifted when it came to guessing games. His observant gaze should have made her knees quiver and shake but it didn’t. She felt easy around him which both confused and greatly intrigued her. Her muddled thoughts were broken when the stranger asked, “You said you lived up ahead at the manor?” 

Felicity nodded quickly, “Yes I along with the other staff members and of course my pupil.” 

“Pupil? So you’re not one of the servants?” He asked quietly while attempting to once more dismount. 

Felicity bit back a laugh as he once more huffed in aggravation. “No sir I’m the governess for Mr. Queen’s ward.” 

That seemed to catch her injured rider’s attention. “Have you ever met the Mr. Queen?” 

“No,” she said almost too quickly as he finally managed to slide gingerly down to the ice laden ground. She detected a faint trail of sweat across his chilled brow as he asked, “I can’t ask for you to fetch another poor soul but if you wouldn’t mind I could use some help.” 

Felicity obeyed moving forward to shift the arm that was currently anchored over the horse’s bridle so it could rest over her shoulder. His slight stubble rubbed briefly over her windburned cheek as he began to limp while using her slender form for support. “Bring me around to the other side so I can use the bridle as a support.” 

She agreed quickly, “Of course.” 

She managed to maneuver him to the other side. He used his free hand to grip the bridle then ordered her gently to retrieve the whip beneath the saddle. “I need the whip just behind me and underneath the saddle.” 

“You’ll be alright without me?” she asked quickly as his arm rose away from her now stressed shoulders. 

“Yes, the horse is still for the moment,” he replied evenly as she ducked beneath his arm span and grabbed the tool he’d requested. 

He nodded in gratitude and whistled lowly to the dog, “Thank you for the assistance now please deliver your letter and return to your home before nightfall.” 

Felicity cocked her head in a sudden show of aggravation. “I beg your pardon but if not for me you’d still be up there with a sprained ankle and a howling dog.” 

His jaw moved as his lips curved into a slight smile. “True,” came the simple reply. 

Taken aback she asked, “So how did you injure yourself?” 

He moved forward with a very pronounced limp. “The horse’s boot slid over a patch of ice. I was nearly thrown as he stumbled.” As the words upon his lips died she felt the pressure of his hand above her shoulder blade. 

“Well then I’d thank your traveling companion and myself as well for helping you.” 

He “Hmmmed” before saying gently, “Thank you now please deliver the letter no one should be out here once the sun has fully set.” 

Felicity turned to face his handsome face once more. Those striking blue eyes held a hint of something foreign as she smiled. “Be safe and please watch your step.” 

He tilted his head and slowly removed his gloved hand. “Travel safely miss and thank you once more for your assistance.” With that they parted him traveling towards the estate and she towards town. 

* * *

The rest of her excursion was uneventful. The town just down the road was right out of a the cartoon version of “Beauty and the Beast”. The brown, wooden buildings were overshadowed by the larger stone structures that had been built in the early 1800s according to the many travel books she’d pursued. Her favorite was the old grain silo with the town’s bell held at the top of the open air tower. When she first came to Thornfield manor she’d used her free hour to travel around the various historic sites that her well worn books had spoken of in detail. Still even after all these months the small town always managed to show her another one of her secrets with each visit she made. 

Today her secret was she hoped the identity of the man who in this modern day chose to ride a horse in the dead of winter. However her hopes were dashed when the owner of the post office revealed that the town’s grain silo was once the this village’s townhall. 

Dotty smiled warmly as she took the lone letter from Felicity’s hand. “So have you heard the news?” 

Felicity placed the stray magazine aside and said, “Other than the town hall is now the grain silo?” 

Dotty waved her hand with a full bodied laugh. “Oh no my dear Mr. Queen’s come home!” 

Felicity smiled politely and attempted to raise her voice in mock excitement. “Oh isn’t that wonderful! I do hope I’ll get the chance to at least introduce myself,” she answered falsely as Dotty handed her a paper receipt. 

“Oh you’ll love him Miss. Felicity. He’s such a kind man honestly.” 

Felicity folded the paper four times and shoved it into her back pants pocket. “Well let’s hope he lives up to the hype then!” she exclaimed as she patted the counter top and said her goodbyes. 

Dotty laughed and waved as Felicity pulled the door open and once more began to descend into the darkening day. What she failed to hear as she left the small office was Dotty’s words to the next customer. 

“Oh yes he rode through town on that God awful horse of his!” 

What awaited Felicity at the manor would be the beginning of the greatest adventure that she’d ever hoped to take. 

What waited for her was Oliver Queen. 


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All original content is property of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and the creators of Arrow.

Mornings weren’t usually filled with the rambunctious energy of her often sleeping pupil. Normally Thea could be left to sleep until the sun was at its highest peak in the midday sky…that was yesterday. Today Thea along with the few occupants of the home were up before Felicity had time to bemoan her drawn drapes. She was awakened to the barely contained squeals from beside her bedside table. “Lissy come on….he’s here, he’s actually here!” 

Felicity rolled her eyes from beneath closed lids, “Thea don’t you normally choose to rise around say noon!” she yawned before attempting to bury her head beneath her spare pillow. 

“Lissy! He’s home for the first time since he took me in…and…” 

Thea let the and hang there like a rain cloud until Felicity caved and rolled onto her back. “I’ve created a monster…” she moaned before giving her a pointed glare. “Finish your thought or say hello to another four English lessons per day!” Felicity threatened tiredly which made Thea clutch at her sides in amusement. 

Felicity continued to glare as the younger woman’s head fell over her stomach. Her body warmed with affection despite her irritation as she lightly let her fingers trail through her hair. “Stop shaking me with your giggling and tell me why you’re really so excited please.” 

Thea’s head shifted so Felicity could see the mixture of warmth and unrestrained affection within her chocolate brown eyes. “He was my brother’s best friend, he’s the last piece of my family…” Felicity caught the sadness of the young woman’s past shadowing the happiness of the moment. 

“Hey…” she nearly purred while placing a hand over her warmed cheek. “No sad thoughts okay?” 

Thea nodded against her belly and smiled brightly, “So in honor of Ollie’s homecoming can we skip our lesson for today?” 

Felicity caught the cheshire smile and once more glared, “You’re going to school Thea…” her tone sounded clipped but Thea’s smile just grew. “What am I missing?” Felicity groaned. 

Thea adjusted her head so her chin was near the top of her covered belly button and simply stared at the oddly drawn curtains. Felicity followed her line of sight and sighed, “Snowstorm…perfect…” but followed up with, “That just means I’m the teacher today…” 

Thea’s smile fell instantly and within moments Felicity’s grew. “Sadist…” Thea groaned as Felicity simply patted her head. 

“Move it Merlyn…” 

Thea glared, “I truly loathe you…” Felicity winked and then giggled herself as Thea’s head left the hallow of her stomach. Felicity let her sulk towards the door as she moaned, “Horrible, horrible woman…” 

* * *

Her hands landed with a light thud onto the warmed comforter as she took a long steady breath. Last night when she’d returned from town the entire house was abuzz with life and activity. Lyla was in panic, Raisa and Thea were peaking through the crack at the kitchen door and she simply stood there looking blankly at the odd scene before her. 

It took ten minutes for someone to address her and then another five for Thea to come screaming towards her with wide arms ready to embrace her slightly chilled form. Felicity smiled remembering how tight that exuberant hug had been. Her voice felt like the lightening after a loud clap of thunder in the stormy but brightened sky as she cried “He’s home! Ollie’s home!” 

Felicity just held her tightly at her shoulders while placing her chin upon her head. The moment shouldn’t be spoiled by questions so she let it be and now the morning had dawned and the time for questions had come. 

With the master’s arrival causing a stir throughout the large estate Felicity found herself displaced from her normal school room. Usually if the weather caused the school to shut down as it often did this time of year, Felicity held Thea’s lessons in the opulent library. 

Today however her space was occupied by the man she’d still yet to lay eyes on. Ever since his arrival last night he’d had a multitude of visitors from the doctor late last evening to the local towns people well into the late afternoon. She hoped the snow would have slowed some of the traffic down but much to her dismay it did not. Thea was unfocused and undisciplined. The door downstairs would open and she’d go running to the hidden staircase at the base of the hidden apartment just above the houses main entrance. Felicity would nearly snarl, “Thea” only to have her student wave her hands to shoo off her veiled warnings; or she’d snarl back, “Witch”. 

By two o clock Felicity had given up. Thea squealed, “Praise God,” before storming down the stairs and towards the still growing line of well wishers. Felicity wanted to be mad she honestly did but something about her excitement was beginning to rub off. She glanced over her shoulder to the falling snow outside before she reached out to close the displaced book over Thea’s makeshift desk. A stark snuffle fell from her parted lips when her eyes darted back and forth over the poorly written lines of French script. “That girl…” she chuckled quietly just as the door to her “study” space opened. 

“Hello Lyla,” she smiled without even lifting her gaze from the scribbles on the notebook’s page. 

“Given up I see?” she commented lightly as she took Thea’s vacated seat. 

Felicity pointed to the lines of poorly written text, “She’s done nothing but doodle his name for the past five hours I have a feeling she was a lost cause long ago.” 

Lyla leaned forward and traced a finger along the delicate scribbles. “She’s missed him, frankly we all have…” she commented lightly as she reached out to lightly touch Felicity’s fingers. “He’s made a request…” she started cautiously. 

Felicity felt her body still and nerves jolt to life. “Has he now…” she replied with ice in her throat. 

Lyla withdrew her hand slowly fearing the next tepid reaction. “He mentioned wanting you and Thea to join him for his evening tea…” 

Felicity’s head darted upwards as she let the book cover slam shut. “Really?” 

“Yes. Really,” Lyla laughed as Felicity’s eyes grew. 

“Why?” she asked as she moved back towards the small makeshift desk. 

Lyla watched her from a distance and waited for her next verbal volley. She didn’t have to wait long…

Once Felicity had placed the book on the desk she turned and gently cocked her head. “Can I just go like this?” Felicity looked down at her cuffed boyfriend jeans and soft, pale, overwashed plaid shirt. 

Lyla squared her shoulders and crossed her arms over her ribcage, smiling contently. Felicity pulled the pencil out of her messy bun and then proceeded to run her fingers through the blonde, tangled mess. “My God what does one wear to meet this town’s version of royalty?” Lyla watched silently while Felicity paced to and fro in front of the old, warped desk. “I mean I have one, maybe two nice dresses, then there’s the day dress, and of course well this but…” 

She paused when Lyla cleared her throat. “Rambling again?” 

Lyla nodded then suggested, “I’d wear the floral print that was blue and white with the collared neckline. 

Felicity nodded blankly as Lyla added, “I always dress for the evening when he’s home. It happens so rarely that I tend to use the excuse to dress up. 

“Dress or die basically?” she asked taking Lyla’s not so veiled hint. 

“Yes and um perhaps put your hair in your signature ponytail?” 

Felicity’s eyes rolled, “Anything else warden? Perhaps an antique bauble from the 1800s or gasp perhaps my mother’s pearls!” 

Lyla took the mocking in gest and grinned happily, “Be ready at 5:45, I’ll announce you promptly at 6.” 

Lyla was about to stand when Felicity jabbed, “Christ he is the freaking Queen of England!” 

“Yes well that “Queen” pays your salary…” she calmly reminded before lightly tapping the forgotten notebook. “And frankly we’re all better for it…” she added as her parting thought before she quietly left the room. Felicity stared after her with a stupid if not shocked grin.

* * *

The alarm on her phone sounded in time with Lyla’s light knock on her bedroom door. Felicity quickly crossed the room as she finished pushing the diamond stud through her earlobe. 

Lyla nodded in silent greeting and smiled sweetly noting Felicity’s choice of attire. Felicity chuckled and mouthed, “One sec” as she went to turn off the lamp on her white painted desk. Her medium height heels thudded gently on the sturdy hardwood floors of the second floor apartment. Her stomach began to flip flop as the staircase came closer. She placed her right palm over her stomach and exhaled deeply as they began to descend down the winding stairs. She counted to ten over and over again in her head hoping the rhythm of her thoughts might settle the undercurrent of fear in her gut. 

Sadly fear was soon to be replaced by immense aggravation and maybe a flicker of another strange and completely foreign emotion. 

Lyla guided them through the darkened hall that was lit solely by the many candles along the holders on the walls. She noted with vague curiosity that all the drapes weren’t drawn but still open to the storm outside. “Why aren’t the curtains closed?” Felicity asked quietly. 

“He prefers to see the open spaces; he claims it makes him feel anchored to the world around him.” Her answer seemed almost rehearsed as the words carefully floated off her tongue. Felicity nodded to no one and kept moving forward with her strained eyes trained on Lyla’s neck. 

The space around them began to change. The colors were warmer, the space felt brighter and the temperature had risen above the chilly 68 degrees of the barely heated halls. Her goosebumps began to fade and her shoulders relaxed when Lyla opened the library doors. She didn’t pause to let Felicity move forward or even to announce they had arrived, no she moved with her practiced ease and easy grace. They walked past the two large oak tables that during the day would be covered in manuscripts and various books. Now they were bare except for the lone candlesticks at each table’s center. Felicity’s body shivered as they ventured further into a dimly lit room. 

There from Lyla’s shadow she saw much to her immediate surprise a very familiar shape. The dog from the road yesterday lifted his large, adorable head. His eyes sparked with faint recognition as his tail began to slowly wag. Thea was next to him stroking his ears gently while practically cooing, “Good Pilot, yes good boy…” 

To say she was taken aback would be an understatement; she was downright floored when the man lit only by the light of the fireplace came fully into view. His broad shoulders were even larger without the restrictive riding coat. His large hands seemed to convey a sense of power but also of control as he smoothed one back and forth over his extended hip. She felt a tremor of annoyance spark within her as those cool, but still striking blue eyes shot upward. Then for a split, momentary second their eyes met…the moment was dashed right when Lyla said, “Here is Miss Smoak, Mr Queen.” 

His dismissive shrug annoyed her yes but, that’s as far as it went. Lyla moved to take her seat opposite of the grand fireplace which Felicity was sure an entire family could have easily lived in. Lyla brushed her hands slowly over her pleated skirt smiling timidly as her master’s head bobbed once more towards Felicity. She didn’t buckle or cower instead she stood firmly rooted in the shadow of the large cathedral window. His lips formed an amused pout before his soft words flowed around the edges of the room. “Can she sit or does she only know how to stand?” 

Lyla flashed him an irritated stare but Felicity made her own feelings known before she had time to flick her tongue in anger. “Yes Mr. Queen I think I can manage the fine art of sitting the real question is can you harness your arrogant tongue?” 

Thea covered her mouth in a lame attempt to conceal her sudden outburst of amusement. Lyla said sternly, “Felicity!” Yet Oliver seemed completely unfazed. His appealing mouth smiled broadly which made the deep worry lines around his mouth appear to soften.

“My arrogant tongue then begs for you to be seated if you don’t mind Miss. Smoak?” 

He made his order sound like a request so she took his lead and bowed her head. “See asking is such a simple task is it not?” 

Lyla’s frown could almost be heard from the opposite side of the darkened room. Felicity lowered herself into the overly large solitary chair along the back wall of the study and straightened her back in mere defiance of his smug demeanor. “Lyla now that our distinguished guest has taken her honorary seat I would appreciate my tea please.” 

Felicity saw Lyla move to stand only to have Thea lean away from Pilot and towards the tea cart right beside her left side. “I’ll get that Ollie there is no need to bother poor Lyla,” she offered sweetly which earned her an easy glance of affection. 

“Let Lyla Thea you might spill the hot liquid all over your new white blouse.” His tone and tenor were tender but his words were downright insulting. 

“You’re fairly dismissive of my young student aren’t you Mr. Queen?” 

The question was out before Felicity could regain the presence of mind to hold her often overly used tongue. Lyla was astonished by her sudden outburst, Thea appeared proud, and again Oliver seemed unaffected. 

“What Mr. Queen no snappy come back or retort?” Felicity felt Lyla’s ire growing as the air around her suddenly warmed. 

He glanced at her from hooded eyes masked by fire and darkness then replied, “My, my Miss Smoak you do take pride in your small achievement don’t you?” 

Felicity was about to interject but was halted by his next rapid fire phrases. “Don’t misunderstand you’ve done a remarkable job what with getting her to class everyday and making sure the tutors I’ve spent untold fortunes on are still gainfully employed but really Miss. Smoak what’s impressive is her disposition.” 

Lyla handed Felicity the tea cup then interjected almost in a haze of motherly candor, “Oliver! Please not everyone finds your off the cuff charm quite so endearing upon the first meeting.” 

He held up a regal hand in silent defeat; allowing her to shift the conversation from Thea towards another far more dangerous subject. “Lyla I’m sorry old friend I simply forgot my rarely used manners. Thea?” 

She glanced up quickly, “Yes Ollie?” 

“Would you perhaps keep Pilot entertained while I get to know your new governess?” 

Thea rolled her eyes and glanced back to Lyla, “Me thinks he’s met a worthy sparing partner how about you?” 

“Yes my dear girl I do believe you’re right,” she smiled easily before reaching out for Thea’s small hand. She accepted it which made Felicity’s eyes slightly bulge before she asked, “Do you think Pilot finds me clumsy?” 

The two women laughed ignoring both Oliver and Felicity as they moved into another alcove within the large room. 

“So….” Felicity breathed with her nervous fingers squeezing at the handle of the teacup.  “Would you like your tea?”

He nodded absent mindedly and reached out for the shaking saucer. Their fingers brushed and each seemed to shudder from the spark. “Sorry,” she mumbled before taking her seat once more.  

He cocked his head and gestured to the chair closer to him. “Come closer to the fire I would like a chance to closely inspect the woman whose been charged with Thea’s care.” 

“Wow you are full of wonderful one liners and simple orders aren’t you?” She asked before moving to take the seat closer to him. 

He snorted, “Yes and yet here you are obeying them?” 

“Well I am a resident in your home now aren’t I?” she asserted while taking a defensive stance and crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Yes indeed you are so… Felicity is it?” 

“ You know my name Oliver feel free to use it,” she breathed through flaring nostrils. 

“Fine,” he amended before asking, “Would you find it improper if I asked you about your background and more importantly your age?” 

He sipped on the now lukewarm tea as she leaned back and crossed her legs. The flames of the fire seemed to lick at the shadows around them like it was attempting to build a red and orange cocoon. “I’m 22. I was in Lowood school or shire before I was brought here by Lyla. What else ya got?” 

“I would have guessed younger…interesting. How about your family? What of your upbringing?” 

His questions felt rehearsed like he’d been asking them before his bathroom mirror in preparation. “I have no parents nor do I remember them before you attempt to forge some nonexistent emotional bond okay?” 

He placed the cup on the table and folded his fingers together over his lap. “Do you have a personal life or are you simply attempting to be boring to aggravate me?” 

Felicity nearly laughed at his audacity before choosing to interact fully within the rich man’s game. “Oh the life of a nun can be very riveting or have you never seen the “The Sound of Music”?” 

“I’m a good likeness for Captain Von Trapp but you are certainly not my Maria…” he chided in jest before adjusting his back so the back of his head could have fallen easily against the rim of the couches edge. 

Felicity smiled in confidence, “Well on that at least we agree…” 

He nodded, “Finally something to build from so now that we’re past the awkward phase can you explain why we hired someone so young and well inexperienced. 

Lyla’s voice came thundering from the darkened alcove. “We’re lucky I saw her advertisement Oliver…” 

Felicity took in his easy candor and charming brow. He was handsome yes, but his manors and speech were insulting which frankly detracted from his outward beauty. She was about to take in the broadness of his well sculpted chest when those twinkling eyes caught the faraway expression of one in the middle of taking a physical inventory of another’s physique. “Lyla defends you and yet silence is your response? Tell me Felicity since we’re so lucky to have you then what pray tell do you do for a source of shall we say amusement?” 

Felicity’s neck tilted even further in a moment of quiet reflection. “Computers, I can hack any system you lay before me why do you have any hidden talents?” 

His chest deflated suddenly when he realized his target was both verbally and mentally very much aware of his chosen game. “I would have guessed drawing…” he said directly. 

Felicity ran her index finger along the rim of her untouched tea. “Maybe I can but perhaps I’d prefer to leave a bit of mystery to my nun like life,” she easily retorted before giving him her own hooded look. 

Those pouty lips were about to part just as Thea came bounding forward and into Felicity’s lap. She huffed in slight discomfort but accepted the easy gesture of affection by wrapping her arms around the young girl’s waist. “My, your pupil seems to rather enchanted by you Miss. Smoak.” 

Thea glared, “Shut it Ollie she’s good for this prison yard.” 

Now it was Felicity who grimaced, “Thea!” 

“What?” she questioned. “I said nothing unkind I simply spoke the truth right Lyla? she asked the pointed question expecting a show of verbal support. Yet it was Oliver’s voice that broke the stale silence. 

“I do believe my ward should be sleeping should she not Fel-ic-ity?” The way he punctuated her name made her skin actually crawl. 

“Arrogance but with a sense of timing,” Felicity remarked before whispering to Thea’s ear, “He’s right Thea you have classes tomorrow.” 

She nodded hoping off her governesses lap but still reaching for her hand. “Night Ollie the grouch,” she smiled sweetly before bending down to the ground in a low orchestrated curtsy. 

“I’ve missed you too Speedy…” he grumbled lowly. Felicity watched his eyes shift and for one fleeting moment the high lord vanished and the real man remained. She marveled at his sincere warmth but kept her budding affections to herself as Thea pulled her upward. “Mr. Queen,” she nodded in a show of meek respect. 

“Miss. Smoak,” he gestured with a flick of hand. “Perhaps one day those hands of yours will be used for some helpful employment.”” 

They left with no parting comments since all Felicity could thing was “Asshat”.

Lyla remained to tidy up the rarely used space. Her voice could be heard as the door began to shut, “What no piano forte?” 

“I’m not Mr. Darcy Lyla…”she heard him say before the door finally swung shut.

* * *

 Felicity had managed to wrangle Thea into her bed after playing twenty questions. “You like him don’t you?” 

Felicity used her patented eye roll to reply. “So you do like him?” she poked before Felicity used her index finger and thumb to flick her nose. “Oww…” she complained as Felicity smiled. 

“Serves you right…” 

Thea frowned, “He’s different now…my brother dying changed him in ways I don’t think I knew could exist.” 

Felicity’s hands stilled over the edge of the comforter, “How so?” 

“He’s distant I mean Tommy was like his brother so when he died…” her voice faded as her face shifted into an expression of remorse. “These were our lands, he became the lord in order to keep me in my family’s home…” 

“He did it out of love sweet girl,” Felicity added as she leaned down to lightly kiss her forehead. “Now sleep because tomorrow we’re going to school,” she whispered against her soft skin. Thea’s eyes had already grown heavy as she slightly purred, “Wuv you..” 

“Ditto,” she smiled before inching the comforter up to her neck and carefully tiptoeing to their adjourning door. What she saw next nearly took her breath away…’

Her outer door’s knob shifted down so Felicity moved to hide behind the drawn curtain. His masculine presence could be felt as he moved slowly into the dark room Felicity held her breath and clutched the drapes closely to her chest hoping that the heavy fabric kept her hidden. Oliver shoes tapped out an easy back and forth rhythm as he began to speak. “I was out of line Speedy, but when aren’t I lately…” 

Felicity’s lungs began to burn as she heard the sound of bent knees falling to a hard floor. He mumbled, “God she irritates me…” 

Felicity scowled but managed to hide the squeak from leaving her small throat. His quiet voice raised slightly when he moaned, “But still there’s just something about her that I can’t seem to shake…”

Felicity held the breath she was about to release while clutching the drapes tightly to her chest hoping the thick fabric would muffle her small breaths. “I can’t believe that someone so mousey is making me feel this way…” She heard him sigh and move his hands over the back of his neck as his knees made a small cracking sound. She froze. Her veins felt like they’d been doused with fire as he made his way towards the partially opened door. “Night Speedy…” he whispered just as the door softly shut.

From the safety of her curtain hiding space Felicity’s mind raced. She was affecting him? How? Why did he call her mousey? All those thoughts ran furiously through her tired mind but only on answer kept firing back on all cylinders.

“You’re affected by him and now you know the feeling is mutual….”

That lone statement kept her awake until the sun’s light hit the freshly fallen snow.


	3. Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All original content belongs to Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

They spoke scarcely a word over the next week. If she saw him coming she’d bow her usually prideful head while he greeted her passing with a curt nod. Felicity was unnerved plain and simple. She was affected and not in the way she wanted to be. 

She affected him! She meek and plain as she was affected him? He who was the “master” of an entire estate felt something complicated for the least complicated person he must have known. She knew it was crazy but ever since that night her perception of him continued to shift as his moods swung between calm and mannerly to cold and abrasive. Thea he ignored in favor of late night rides through the snow covered grounds of the rugged, harsh estate. Despite the appalling treatment of her charge she still remained riveted by his dark, mysterious moods that every so often appeared to match her own. 

The afternoon on this particular sunless day was especially long due to Thea’s latest “idea”. “Oh come on Lissy it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had! Hell this one is downright brilliant in comparison to my last few harebrained schemes.” 

“No its deceitful end of story now please get your bags so we can go….” 

She was about to shoulder the heavy bag of books when Thea snatched it from her grasp. “Thea please I’m not going to entertain such an uncharitable thought so please stop pouting and hand over the bag we both know you won’t be carrying.” 

Thea pouted but kept the loops coiled around her midhand. “It’s just to get a dress Felicity I’m not trying to rob a bank!” 

“Thea,” Felicity sighed. “It’s still a lie.” 

The younger woman paused pretending to consider the facts before her but remained focused on her goal. “I don’t want to end up fully grown with nothing to show for it like you,” she stated coldly before shoving the bag towards the ground. 

Felicity bent down gingerly and picked up the discarded item with the falsified invitation from Thornhill’s headmaster. “I’d never wish my fate upon you Thea, but I won’t condone lying to change one’s circumstance. The headmaster will learn of your story when Mr. Queen or Lyla calls to confirm the invitation.” Her voice remained steady as she shouldered the bag and gave her a tender but still firm stare. “If you want to go on the date then tell them the truth but don’t pretend it’s some dance to celebrate your caregiver returning home okay?” 

Thea plopped herself down onto the sturdy tabletop and frowned, “He’ll never let me go…” 

“You don’t know until you ask…” Felicity reminded her gently before reaching for the younger woman’s hand. 

Thea nodded accepting the gesture by taking her hand and sliding off the chestnut table. “You’re never going to let me gain an inch are you?” 

Smiling Felicity shook her head and slightly wiggled her nose. “No my young charge now can we please go? Lyla serves dinner promptly at five with tea directly after.” 

The younger woman sighed “Fine,” as they began to move through the sturdy double doors. 

* * *

When they arrived home thirty minutes later Thea shoved the car door open quickly and ran full speed toward the partially open kitchen door. Felicity shrugged at the driver before bidding him a quick farewell. Thea screamed, “Lyla we’re home! Please tell me you’ve actually begun making dinner!” 

Raisa appeared from around the corner with a glass of water and a small handwritten note. Felicity shut the door quietly and moved towards the back row of hangers to deposit her coat and Thea’s school bag. Thea took a long gulp from the tall glass and smiled sweetly in thanks before asking Raisa, “Did he really send this or are you trying to mend fences again?” 

After the display a week ago Thea had gone to giving him the cold shoulder. She rarely spoke when he entered the room nor did she go out of her way to see him before she left for the day. Felicity hadn’t noted any distinct change in his behavior but then again that would require her actually looking him in the eye when they passed in the hallways. Lyla passed behind her and gave her small pat on the back before whispering, “He’s requested to see you both again this evening and the  note is his way of attempting to I suspect gain your favor.” 

Felicity did a double take by glancing at her over her shoulder. “My favor?” 

“Yes,” she said pointedly, “Yours now get Thea ready and perhaps yourself?” 

Felicity’s jaw dropped and Raisa’s beautifully aged voice filled the air right before Thea’s joyous squeals joined her. “Oh Raisa really! A gift! What kind?” 

“Miss. Thea just go upstairs and let your governess prepare you for dinner please.” 

Felicity took her cue and stepped forward to place a gentle hand over her coat covered shoulder. “Come on jumpy let’s get ready,” she teased. 

The girl complied and Rasia mouthed her a grateful “thank you” as they passed. Felicity returned her smile with a gentle nod before pushing Thea’s giggling form towards her bedroom door. 

* * *

Forty five minutes later…

“Okay now please this time don’t start that awful flirting thing like you did the last time.” 

Felicity stood agape. “The awful what thing?” 

Thea rolled her eyes and smoothed her bangs back behind her ear. “The flirting thing you know you’re not his Maria and he’s not your Captain Von Trapp. I mean it’s cute you like him but seriously you two have scarcely said two words since that evening and frankly it’s getting old. Tonight just go hang out in the background while I attempt to wrangle my gift away from him.” 

Felicity nodded and said nothing more as they both entered the sitting room. Just like before the drapes were drawn and the fireplace was lit. No other light was evident except for some carefully placed candesticks along the western and eastern walls. He of course was poised like a King on his throne in the center of the oddly chilled room. Felicity noted with some curiosity that Lyla was absent but paid it no attention since Thea’s shrill scream of elation broke her laser focus. 

“Ollie no!” 

Before her eyes laid a perfectly store wrapped long box with a single bow and yet another handwritten note. This one said simply sorry as she would later be told and held the item of her charges desire.  Thea defy ripped through the brightly colored red paper and clapped her hands in giddy relief. “It’s perfect Ollie! It’s absolutely perfect! Tres magnifique!” 

Now it was Felicity’s turn to groan. Oliver caught the disturbance since he pinned her with an aggressive stare before focusing once more on Thea’s delight. 

“I’ve sent for Lyla so please defer from expressing your contentment until she’s arrived to cater to your vanity.” 

Felicity wanted to gauge his eyes out but remained still with her clenched fists resting by her sides. Thea understanding his game perhaps more than Felicity did at that exact moment placed the gift on sofa beside him and gingerly kissed his whisker covered cheek. What she whispered remained hidden but the slight flush of the master’s skin did not. Thea pulled away pleased with the response shortly thereafter. Lyla moments after that came rushing through the door with an assortment of dress catalogs in hand as Thea glanced knowingly over her shoulder. “Oh good you’re here! Come I do believe Ollie wants some time alone with my dear governess.” 

Lyla nodded silently and accepted Thea’s hand as she gently pulled her and the beautiful still halfopened box towards the back room. Oliver snickered, his wits now recovered and called out to towards the back wall of the room. “Miss Smoak are you still here or did my last unkind comment send you stomping back to your room?” 

Felicity edged herself out of the darkness and maneuvered toward the chair furthest from him. His drool mouth curved as he breathed, “Miss. Smoak please don’t be shy and take this seat directly beside my own. He gestured with the tilt of his head toward the comfortable but not overly ornate chair just beside his own. 

“I see your arrogance has only grown since our last encounter?” she questioned briskly while attempting to take the seat she’d originally chosen. From the background she heard Thea cough, “Flirting” before resuming her chore of tearing through the various levels of paper to reach the various gifts inside. 

“Flirting? Why Miss. Smoak what is that brat speaking of?” 

Felicity’s nostrils flared but her tongue was quicker than her coiled fist. “You selfish, arrogant bastard!” she growled. “She’s not a brat, I’m not here to amuse you, and seriously when was the last time you held a civil conversation with a woman!” She felt her chest heaving in anger as she panted out an abrupt, “What that doesn’t receive even a simple comment?” 

Oliver took his hand and once more stretched it toward the chair beside his own. “I actually preferred the outburst. You Felicity have just dispensed with the very civilities and common manners that greatly bore me. Frankly I’d like to see more of you without the pomp and circumstance so please do continue…” 

She huffed and despite herself she actually granted him a rare if not timid smile. “Do you always talk like you’re in an 18th century novel or is that just for my benefit?” The question hung between them as she crossed the room and took the directed to seat. 

Oliver smiled smugly. “No, I don’t.” 

She caught his voice shiver and lower as the proper gentlemen took his leave and the rascal came out to play. “Good I’m starting to feel like I’m living Jane Eyre’s life…” she mumbled as her eyes dropped down to her shaking, clenched hands. 

Quiet surrounded them. Thea was talking quietly to Lyla about the presents she just received. Felicity felt strange and not the strange that would make one smile or even cry, no this felt even worse. What she felt was a small flame of yearning blooming within her constricted chest. Her eyes skimmed over the soft lines of the pink skirt she’d chosen because of how it highlighted both her trim waist and slim legs. Her crème colored blouse was of the sleeveless variety with a collar surrounding the small width of her neck. Yet what unnerved her was not the reasons for the clothes but that her male companion seemed to notice her because of them. She gulped as he breathed and she sighed as his tongue clicked. His steely blue eyes she knew were appraising her so she kept quiet and remained still as he took his silent inventory. 

“I take it by your silence that I’ve unnerved you.” he muttered contemplatively. 

Felicity sputtered, “Don’t be ridiculous. Your manner unnerves me in regards to how you treat Thea and the household residents.” 

Oliver’s reply did something to her stomach that she even later on in life wouldn’t dare admit to. “Forgive me but she’s too young to engage my mind and Lyla is too familiar. You however intrigue me, your manner, your looks, and even your fairly venomous tongue seem to draw me closer like the moth to a growing flame.” 

She gaped but kept her face hidden in by the darkness of the fire lit room. “What Felicity don’t you find me handsome?” he taunted her slowly with humor edging his voice.  

“No!” she blurted out before she’d been able to fully comprehend the question he’d just asked. 

“No?” he repeated almost confused as she swallowed hard. 

“No, I mean…” She glanced up and met those blue eyes fully before daring to continue. “Yes I find you handsome but I also don’t.” 

“Elaborate Felicity,” he ordered as his fingers fell to the sides of his favorite chair. 

She nodded and wetted her dry, parted lips. “If you weren’t such a toxic human being I’d find you quite handsome yes.” 

His smile confused her especially once he spoke. “Well as intrigued as I am by your looks,  I dare so you’re awfully plain to look at wouldn’t you agree?’ 

“Seriously talk like you’re from this century Mr. Rochester!” she groaned as her legs crossed. 

He chuckled and straightened his back. “Fine I’m drawn to you but it’s not physical for me it’s all mental so please start talking…” 

“And now you’re Mr. Darcy.” she blurted out as he said…

“Well then I guess you’re my Miss. Bennet.” 

Felicity rolled her eyes and relaxed by a fraction before asking, “What do you want to talk about Oliver? Your poor manners? How Thea needs you to be more present in her life, or even how someone like you became so desperate for human interaction?” 

His eyebrows furrowed in concentration but not a trace of anger was seen over the small age lines upon his still very attractive face. “I’m ten years your senior and yet you still might have something to teach me,” he mused to himself more than to her before he posed his first question. “Do you know why I’ve broken our unspoken stalemate?” 

She shook her head, “No but I’ll admit I’m intrigued so why did you?” 

“I wanted to talk to someone. Thea’s too young and…” 

“Lyla’s well Lyla,” she interrupted which earned her the first genuine smile he’d given to anyone she suspected in years. 

“I do enjoy the fact that you stimulate me to actually think for a change.” 

Her blushing aside something in his manner was beginning to awaken feelings that she’d sworn she was never born to feel towards another living soul. “I’m still not understanding what you want from me other than a sitting companion,” she complained lightly to hide her growing discomfort. 

He shifted downward just as he did the first night they’d spent together. Felicity eyed him closely hopping to see the same chink in his armor from many nights before. His manner was easy, relaxed, and calm which was what scared her into silence. 

“Felicity you haven’t been this quiet since well ever so please speak I’m sitting on pins and needles for the next insult from your perfectly shaped mouth.” 

Felicity’s ire jumped and her foolish feelings were pushed aside. “You pay my salary and I live in your home so again Mr. Queen what do you want me to say? What do you want to hear about? My crappy upbringing at the hands of an abusive aunt with a son who one time smacked my head into a wall? Or maybe how my time at Lowood actually did more damage than my short time with my aunt could ever do? Or even better let’s go over the fact that even though I’m young and inexperienced I still have the ability to feel fully and with regard for another’s feelings? So please Oliver just cut the act and tell me what more you want from me.” 

Oliver’s once amused eyes felt heavier if that were even possible as he gave her his complete and undivided attentions. “I might be older but right now I dare say we are one and the same…” he replied almost warmly before asking almost timidly, “Why did you really take this job?” 

“To escape the mundane aspects of my life and…” His gaze upon her fire lit face made her skin erupt into thousands of goosebumps. “to feel something more than sadness and longing for a human connection,” she breathed with slumping shoulders and flushing skin. 

“Once again Felicity you and I are one in the same.” 

His warm gaze began to move slowly over her form as he now openly appraised her; mirroring the actions she taken the last time they’d been together in this room. “Question if I may?” 

Oliver’s eyes froze upon hers as his velvet soft voice began to melt away at the cockles of her war torn heart. “Please,” he uttered. “Please I’d welcome any question you might have for me.” 

“Do you find me handsome?” 

Her earnest tone hid the twinkle of humor in her eyes. Her lips were beginning to break into a soft smile as he gulped and answered, “No.” 

Felicity’s smile fell instantly and her head began to fall when he added, “I don’t find you handsome I find you beautiful.” 

Her had shot up and she uttered, “Oliver….” just before Thea came bounding over with a very happy Lyla in tow. 

“Oh Lissy isn’t this perfect!” 

Felicity tore her shocked gaze away from Oliver’s and stared at the soft, pale green of the knee length dress. “It’s beautiful Thea,” she replied quietly as the young woman spun happily in a small semi circle. 

“The lace is perfect and look he gave me shoes and the accessories to match! It’s the perfect dress for my date!” 

The word date caught Oliver’s own ire as he mouthed at Felicity, “date?” She scowled, “A boy from school asked her to the semi formal next weekend and well I think she should be allowed to go…” 

His full lips thinned into almost nothing as he pondered his next move. Lyla placed her hand over Felicity’s shoulder in a silent show of support as they both pinned him with angry, if not violent glares. He appeared to recoil while muttering, “Let me sleep on it.” 

Thea grinned happily, “Well played ladies…” and then glanced over her shoulder, “I can accept those terms.” 

He nodded in gratitude then asked in a lighter tone, “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed?” 

Thea pouted but it was Felicity who quickly agreed. “Yes she should. Thea come please.” 

“Okay…” she answered slowly as if she’d caught the tremor in her tone. “Night Ollie and thanks for this,” she gestured toward the dress. 

“You’re welcome Speedy,” he whispered before looking once more into Felicity’s eyes. “Sleep well Miss. Smoak.” 

“You as well Mr. Queen,” she offered in thin recognition. She was halfway to her escape when Thea tugged at her elbow. 

“What happened in there?” she asked seeing how thrown her usually stable governess was. 

Felicity just gulped and averted her troubled gaze. “I think we more than flirted…” she admitted before clutching her hand and pulling her down the darkened hall. 

She didn’t know it yet but her next evening with Oliver Queen would bring them one step closer to revealing their growing mutual feelings. 


	4. Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All original material belongs to Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

 

 

As per most of their meetings days would pass before they once more set eyes on the other. This time it was during the day and for once not in the stuffy, darkened library. For a reason that still bewildered her Thea had managed to convince her that today of all days would be a good one for her weekly riding lesson. She was midway through her horse’s fourth trot when to her immediate surprise she saw Pilot charging over the snow covered hill. 

He ran past the stables and straight towards where Felicity was standing beneath a very old leafless maple tree. “Hi boy,” she cooed as she reached out to tenderly pat his warm head. The dog eased into the gentle touch’ his tail wagged quickly in the cold, winter breeze. “Where’s your master Pilot?” 

As if on que his master appeared. “I see Pilot’s found a new friend.” 

“Very funny,” she laughed with a smile overtaking her windburned face. “Why are you out and about on an afternoon such as this?” she asked as he came to stand alongside her. 

“I was looking for a diversion and realized we hadn’t spoken since I told you were beautiful.” 

“That’s correct we haven’t,” she admitted shyly. He inched closer; the back of his fallen hand could have easily brushed against her own as they stood like statues side by side. Her body teemed with the heightened sense of the moment yet her head was screaming for her to make a hasty retreat. 

“You’ve lost the ability to speak or has my arrogant tongue left your own prideful one stunned beyond words?” 

His question made her crack the smallest of smiles. “Have you ever had a real conversation with well anyone?” she queried lightly. 

His body seemed to shake with amusement as his head bowed. “What not caring for the pompous version?” 

“No, I think I’d prefer Oliver,” she teased and then took a small step forward. Pilot had left them and was now off in the distance chasing Thea’s horse as he galloped around the grounds “So why are you really out here?” she murmured over her shoulder before beckoning for him to follow her with the smallest of head tilts. 

He moved easily matching her stride for purposeful stride. “Thea.” 

Felicity paused, “Thea? Okay now that I wasn’t expecting.” 

He sighed, “I’ve been quite cold since I’ve returned and I know that hasn’t gone unnoticed.” 

“Why have you been so cold if I may ask?” Oliver shoved his hands into his pant pockets as his body came to a standstill. She too froze alongside him and waited for the answer to the one question she’d yet to fully solve in her own head. 

“When you were younger and staying with your horrid aunt did you ever long for something more?” He poised the answer as a question on purpose to see if his target was fully engaged. Felicity caught the trick and gave him her own twofold response. 

“Yes and nice to see you were paying attention but tell me this if you know how your mood affects her why be in such a poor one?” 

He narrowed his eyes and pursed his full lips. “Because she represents everything that I’ve lost.” 

Felicity exhaled loudly. “She’s the last tie to a life that no longer exists...” 

“Yes and to a person I feared had died along with those we lost.” His admission was perhaps the first truthful moment they’d shared and yet still something felt hallow in the phrase. She still felt that beneath the exterior of the wounded man before her was an even deeper, festering wound. 

Felicity heard Thea’s laughter in the distance and smiled, “She’s still the same girl from before you know,” she said casually in a veiled attempt to bring him further into the conversation. 

He edged closer once more so their hands could practically touch. Her body hummed from the vibration of enticement and fear. “Could you forgive someone for reminding you of your past?” 

She thought for a few lingering moments before allowing the words to pass from her lips. Her gaze was fixed on the horizon of the flat landscape as she let the words mull through her mind before letting them reach her tongue. “Yes because it’s not their fault but the fault of the ones who are no longer there. The blame doesn’t lie with her Oliver, it lies with the one’s you’re still grieving.” 

He shook his head sadly, “I can’t blame the dead for my misery Felicity.” 

She disagreed quietly, “You can blame anyone you want Oliver. Sadness and anger don’t have rule books.” 

“Why are you always surprising me?” he asked off the cuff as she shot him a sideways glance. 

Smiling brightly for perhaps the first time in his presence she said, “Because as I told you before you might be older but in some ways you and I are very much the same.” 

The small interlude was broken by Pilot’s bark and Thea’s cries of happiness. “Lissy! Come on you’re missing all the fun!”  

“I think my charge is calling,” Felicity said almost sadly as her body involuntarily turned. Their eyes locked and once more words felt insufficient. “I do hope to see an improvement in your mood Mr. Queen,” she teased with a soft, sweet tone. 

He grinned almost so brightly that she could make out the deep adorable dimples on each cheek. “Upon our next meeting Miss. Smoak I believe you’ll see a positive change.” 

Their words ended but the stare between them felt both endless and all too short. It was only when Pilot’s nose hit her outstretched hand that they both looked away laughing from the interruption while also regretting his intrusion. 

“Till we meet again Oliver...” she whispered to herself more than to him. 

He echoed the sentiment with a small cocky grin. “Till next time Felicity...till next time.” 

They parted slowly he walked back towards the house with his hands still hidden within his pants pockets while she headed towards Thea and her infectious laughter. 

* * *

 

Night in the old drafty house was always a challenge even for Felicity. Her first night there she’d heard thousands of small squeaks and even at one point she swore she’d heard a shrill scream. No matter what she told herself she knew deep down that something within these walls would always be crawling to get out. This night was no different from all the others. Thea had fallen asleep earlier in the evening due to her day’s excretions. Lyla’s door was shut and the lights were dimmed so she too was in for the night. The rest of the house fell quiet shortly after 11pm so all she had for company was the tree branches that hit sharply over the paned glass of the aging windows. 

Thwack, Thwack they went over and over again in a nosy rhythm of natures rage. She stared at the ceiling and groaned loudly, “Just one night, one simple night is all I ask...” 

The wind howled shortly after her musings ended and she chuckled. “Great now nature is answering my complaints.” 

Silence followed as she rolled over onto her side and pulled her knees up to her small chest. Her eyes felt heavy and her mind was worn. She was mere seconds from finding the blissful release of sleep when she heard a sound that would scare even the bravest person. 

She flew upwards glancing from side to side. Her hand swept away the fallen pieces of hair that had fallen from the loose ponytail. The scream was almost guttural this time, and haunted. She’d asked Lyla about this disturbance on her first night when she’d heard what she’d sworn was nails scratching at her door’s lock. Lyla had shrugged it off saying the house was old and the noises were common for a home at this stage in its overall existence. She’d accepted the answer and attempted to let it go but something would happen again every other night or so and the focus would once more be on the noise that they all claimed wasn’t there. At first she’d thought it was Gracie one of the live in servants who often was seen looking dreamy eyed out the dirty windows. Felicity tried to make conversation once but stopped when the other woman’s head slumped over from either boredom or booze.

At first Felicity thought the cries were from her. She was odd enough and silent during the day so the pattern she felt would fit. She’d fall into a fitful sleep only to be awakened by a shrill, horrible scream from the room directly above her own. She’d glance up with wide, terrified eyes and whisper, “Is anyone there?” She’d hear a soft thudding sound followed by an evil almost witch like cackle before all fell deathly silent. 

Tonight however right before the scream at her door’s lock she was thinking of Oliver... 

Oliver and his past self who was still buried beneath the mask of duty and obligation. She’d closed her eyes and pictured his handsome slightly untamed scruff as his eyes crinkled when he gave her one of his precious smiles. Her fingers clawed at her cold sheets as her mind attempted to imagine what it would feel like with her fingers running along those grinning lips. She could feel the bite of the sharp hairs as she ran her delicate fingers over it. She could even image how he’d wet his lips just hoping that his tongue might accidentally graze her thumb pad. Yes her visions had been wonderfully pleasant so when she heard the sound of fingernails over her key lock she was more than a bit disturbed. 

Again the witch like cackle followed the haunted scream. She pushed the covers off her legs as she reached for her phone on the nightstand. She tapped it harshly against her palm so the flashlight filled the small darkened room. She ran the light along every corner and crevice seeing nothing but dust bunnies and shadows. She made a mental note to do a better cleaning job but sighed wondering if maybe she really was just making it all up in her head. “I’m becoming Gracie,” she snorted aloud just as she heard the knob on her door jiggle. Her heart lept into her throat as her entire body froze. 

Another thud was followed by another evil laugh before everything once more fell deathly silent. Felicity called out,” Hello?” only to be met with utter darkness

She tried to laugh it off as she placed the phone back on the nightstand and slid back beneath the warmth of the covers. It was only when she heard the low manacle laugh sounding from the outer stairwell that she flung them off once more and slowly crept from the safety of her own four walls. With cellphone in hand she carefully with trembling hands pushed down the rod iron knob and peered out around the edge of the barely opened door. 

The hallway looked old and forlorn just like always so she pushed her hand out slowly with the light of her phone pointed down towards first Lyla’s chambers and then Oiiver’s.....

She squinted and mumbled, “Glasses, need glasses,” as she reached blindly toward her dresser. Her fingers slid over the thin, black frames as she pushed the door a little bit more so half of her form was visible to the naked eye. She slid them on easily from years of repetition and waited as her tired eyes focused on a soft almost amber like glow. Her brow furrowed. Was his light on? Did he have a dimmer switch? Did he use candles everywhere to save on the electric bill? Whatever the answer was something felt off. She moved over the creaky floor boards and winced. “Seriously how is no one waking up every other hour?” she often questioned as she squeaked loudly down the now semi lit hall. 

The hair around her turned suddenly acrid. The hairs on her arm began to stand up right. Something wasn’t right so she took a shaky, uneven breath and reached to open the oddly warm door....

* * *

 

Smoke...

All she could see was smoke as she pushed her shoulder against the door. She called out, “Oliver?” 

She heard nothing. She moved closer as the smoke became thicker and darker. She called out again this time louder and with more fear edged in her tone. “Oliver?” she again repeated only to see a single flash of orange and red billowing from the inner chamber of the massive suite. Her phone fell with a thud to the floor as she ran through the sitting area and towards his actual bedroom. Her mouth fell open when she saw the flames licking their way around his bedframe. He was surrounded...he was trapped...and the flames were only getting taller. 

She peered to the left seeing the bathroom. She took off like a shot and slammed her shoulder against the door jam as she stumbled past the threshold. “Bucket...” she muttered. “Where’s a dam bucket!” She glanced over her shoulder when she heard what sounded like a crack. The flame had begun to eat through the legs of the bedframe. She hurried turning on every facet in the smaller room while also looking for towels and various linens. She screamed while grabbing a stack of towels from the bottom cabinet, “OLIVER WAKE UP!” 

She heard nothing just the crackling of the wind as the fire continued to grow. “Dammit” she yelped while dumping the towels into the nearly filled tub and soaking them completely. Thirty seconds later she was running with sobbing wet towels towards the center of the burning inferno. Her arms ached from the weight and her cute flannel pj’s were completely soaked as she let the towels fall to the ground so only one remained in her hand. She called out again with more urgency if that were even possible, “OLIVER WAKE UP!” She saw his leg move beyond the flicker of the flames and yelled again, “Oliver! Oliver your room is on fire get up!” 

She heard a low grumble followed by a throaty, “What?” 

She threw the wet towel at his chest and screamed, “OLIVER!” 

He flew upwards looking shocked and panicked as he took in the scene before him. “Felicity?” 

She picked up another towel and yelled, “Use the towel to stamp out the flames! Hurry or you and I are both going to look very different in the next few minutes.” He nodded rapidly as he grabbed the dripping towel and began to swat at the ground around him. 

“Oliver hurry,” she urged as she focused on the window’s drapes. “We have to stop it before it spreads!” 

He agreed gruffly, “I’ve almost got this stomped out keep focusing on the drapes.” 

Sweat dripped down her back from the heat of the flames as she threw everything she had into controlling the blaze. Minutes later the urgency was over as the smoke around them began to clear. She blew chunk of fallen hair out of her face as she turned. Oliver was standing in the center of the room with the wet towel still clutched in his fist while the other rested on his hip. She glanced over his face checking for any sign of injury before she surveyed the rest of him. The gray tee shirt was littered with small burn spots over the panes of his abdominal muscles. She could see the puckered red of his slightly marred flesh as his chest rose rapidly in confusion. His eyes flited upward. She froze, letting the towel fall from her limp hand. “You saved me?” he mumbled only to have her reply, “Always...” 

He stared at her as she did him. The room was silent except for the sounds of the rapid pants. “How...how did you know?” 

She shrugged, “I heard something odd so like a weirdo I investigated. 

“I’m glad you did,” he replied gratefully as he extended his hand. She looked at him strangely so he said, “Felicity just take my hand I don’t want you falling through a weakened floorboard.” 

“Oh,” she uttered and tiptoed towards his offering. She touched his hand gingerly; he sighed lightly as she held her breath. 

“You’re shaking,” he commented. 

“I’m cold, “she lamely replied as another shiver ran through her warmed form. 

He nodded, “Follow my steps I don’t want you to trip and fall okay?” Felicity nodded silently and trudged along unnerved as he ran the pad of this thumb over her soft knuckles. 

Her bare feet crunched on the ashy floor as he slowly moved them past the marred floors and fallen debris from his now destroyed bed. His skin felt foreign as she slowly relaxed her stance and allowed herself to enjoy the feel of the slight touch. The pad of his finger wasn’t rough nor soft but rugged and tempting. Her knuckles caught the ridges of his fingerprint lines each time he made a soothing swipe over the boney protrusions. His skin felt cool which surprised her given the heat he was nearly engulfed by. Her toe hit the edge of the door frame making her wince lightly. “Ouch” she gulped while feeling the pressure of his hand increase.

“You okay?”

She looked up in shock from how tender his tone had been. She blinked rapidly, “I’m…I’m fine…” she stammered as he pulled her closer to his side. Her heart clenched in her narrow chest as he brought his other hand over her waist.

“Just in case you feel the need to stub that toe again,” he breathed as she looked at him quizzically.

“Umm..yeah..good idea,” she mumbled in short static breaths.

He moved so she could fall in step but instead she held firm forcing the arm at her waist to fully encircle her slim form as he spun her forward. His fingers curved into her lower back; slowly rubbing at the tender flesh as she tilted her head and starred deeply into his ocean blue, stormy eyes. He swallowed hard as she stood on the tips of her bare toes and carefully swiped her nose over the tip of his own. His neck tilted and his lips parted like he expected something far more intimate but he held his stance and didn’t make one move that might push her further. She smiled with closed eyes as they held the odd but intimate embrace. “You scared me,” she admitted with a raspy undertone.

His soft breathes fanned over her quivering lips as he began to grin, “Thank you for saving me.”

Felicity nodded causing their touching noses to part. “I should really get back to my room now that the immediate danger is over.”

He agreed silently but still held her closely. “You have to let me go you know,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to,” he admitted shyly before adding, “And you don’t really want me too…”

His bold statement took her by surprise as she shivered. He pushed them closer until their chests were flushed with the other. “Lines Oliver…very large lines,” she warned as he began to tilt his head once more. She pressed her lips over his nose before ducking out of his reach and backing into the nearby wall. His lips curved. “You’re always going to challenge me aren’t you?”

She shook her head softly,” If I didn’t you wouldn’t want me,”

She glanced up to see his eyes had gone wide. “It’s one of the reasons that I want you Felicity but not all of them,” he gulped sharply as he moved forward. She held her hands out from her chest stopping his stride before he had the chance to once more ensnare her within his grasp.

“Oliver, it’s late and you almost died so please, just please let this die…” Her words felt hollow even to her as she watched his head sink down to his chest.

“Good night Felicity,” he stated sadly before grasping her wrist sharply and bringing her pulse point to his lips. His kiss to her heated skin felt perfect. He felt perfect, and in that moment all she wanted was to feel his lips against her own. She was beginning to whisper, “Oliver,” when his musings made her heart stammer and then drop towards her stomach. “I’ve been intrigued since that first night Felicity, I’ve wanted you since that first night…” he went on before ending with, “and I’ll want you until I have my last one…”

He let her wrist fall as he took his leave. She stood there clutching her wrist to her chest as she mumbled, “I feel the same…”


	5. Part 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Chapter 5**

 

Once it was nightfall that scared her and now it was the break of day. Felicity hadn’t bothered to draw the drapes before she crawled back into bed the following night. She’d just slumped onto her back and pushed her cold feet underneath the piles of blankets that Lyla had given her upon arrival. She then much to her own humiliation touched her lips to her wrist and sighed, “Damn you Oliver Queen.” 

The memory of his soft lips brushing so tentatively over her skin made the small hairs over her body stand on edge. What really set her even further on edge was how it felt to truly feel those prickly whiskers slowly mapping the pathways of her wrist. 

His touch wasn’t rough like she imagined and that still to this very moment left her bewildered and confused. He’d given her the words that she herself hadn’t even dared to imagine could be true. He’d admitted that he wanted her; he’d admitted that he’d wanted her since day one when he’d insulted her profusely. The sun was nearing the top of the snow covered mound near the end of the property line. Its light illuminated the darkened sky so the landscape before her was coated in an array of blues, purples and pinks.

Her thoughts became spoken words before she could stop her tired lips from moving. “He wants me...” 

“And now you’re afraid that you want him too?” 

Her neck snapped to the side to see Thea’s temple resting against their shared door’s frame. Thea asked again but with more compassion in her tone. “Do you want him too?” 

Felicity let her eyes slip shut and then answered, “I can’t do this with you now so please get ready for school okay?” 

She heard her mumble, “Lissy you deserve more than this,” before the door softly slipped shut. 

Felicity groaned; opening her eyes and feeling wretched for her last words. “If only my heart could believe you,” she explained to the stale air in her empty room. 

* * *

 

 Thea had departed without her which was hardly surprising given how their morning had started. Her charge did however slip a note beneath her door explaining that she’d let the subject drop for this morning but this afternoon would be an entirely different story. Felicity grinned at the care and the compassion but still rolled her eyes at the girl’s stubborn streak. She was about to leave her assigned quarters when she heard the whispers of Lyla and the rest of the skeleton crew they had the nerve to call a household staff. 

“How did this happen? The master never uses candles in his private chambers.” Felicity recognized the slight squeak and air of mousey authority and knew it was the cook’s wife Lee. 

“Maybe he felt like saving money on electricity this month?” Felicity fought the cough of laughter at James’s comment and had to bite her tongue when Lyla replied, “Please he’s amassed more wealth than twenty people twice his age have. I don’t think this was created by him...”

Felicity pressed her ear roughly against the door and strained to hear the hushed words that followed. “We can’t jump to conclusions Ms. Michaels, I mean it could have been a simple accident? 

James was convincing since he had Felicity nodding but Lee’s argument was also equally as convincing. “We all know what we think happened here James. The only reason we’re not daring to say it aloud is because of the girl and her governess.” 

Felicity gasped and then punished herself for the loss of control by banging her forehead on the door. Lyla called out, “Felicity come join us please.” 

She yelled back, “Be right there Lyla!” 

She quickly adjusted her glasses by pushing the rims back into place before she opened the door and waved at her adoring audience. “Good Morning,” she croaked uneasily as Lee smiled and James smirked. 

“Morning Miss. Smoak. How was your evening? Did you hear about what occurred last night in the master’s chambers?” 

Felicity bit her bottom lip slowly and attempted to reply with a modulated tone. “Yes I was the one who helped him put out the fire.” 

All three of them starred at her like she’d just become a ghost before their very eyes. “You saved the master?” Lee again squeaked. 

“Yes...” she sighed. “Yes I did.” 

Lyla thankfully stopped the next mind numbing questions by congratulating her on her quick thinking and heroic actions. “Felicity you have my deepest regards for your actions and I’m sure you have Oliver’s as well.” 

Felicity blushed and attempted to scamper down the hall past her three onlookers. “I...um.. well...do you have any suspects before I head down for breakfast?” 

She was almost to his now charred door when Lee reached out and grabbed her elbow. “Do you have any thoughts since you were the one to see him before he left this morning?” 

Felicity stopped resisting her hold and froze in mid step. “Left? He’s gone?” she questioned sadly. 

Lee gave her a compassionate smile and lightly repeated, “Yes sweetheart he left this morning. After he had an early breakfast and complained to James about how drafty this house is, he had Nathan ready his horse. He and that lapdog of his left before the sun was even ready to wake up the sleeping skies.” 

Felicity’s body went cold. “He’s gone...right, well um...” she attempted to formulate her thoughts before continuing with her primary suspect for the arson. “As for your other question I thought of Gracie. She’s always either drunk or coming off of being drunk so...” 

“Yes we thought of her too but sadly our little daydreamer was in town last evening. Her call stalled and had to be towed to Leroy’s for a transmission belt I think?” Lyla’s forehead crinkled as she attempted to find the correct words. Felicity took pity on her and whispered, “Alternator” which earned her a smile and thankful wink. 

“Yes so she’s not on the short list I’m afraid. Any other thoughts?” she asked while both James and Lee looked on eagerly. Felicity felt like she was on display. Lee still held her elbow in a vice grip while the other two looked like they were waiting on pins and needles for her brilliant reply. 

She sadly was about to disappoint them. “I heard that same scream followed by the scratching at my door but other than that no.” 

All three’s brows furrowed. Felicity felt Lee’s grip dissipate until the imprint of her fingers was no more than a distant memory. “Did I say something wrong?” she asked knowing she’d get nothing but the standard it’s an old house response. 

James shrugged it off and Lyla waved her hand dismissively but it was Lee who almost cracked. “You’ve heard this scream before?” she breathed before James had enough time to place a firm hand on her shoulder. 

“Lee, let’s not fill her head with your old ghost stories,” he warned but Felicity felt the warning went far deeper than some old stories that were told to scare new residents. 

Felicity urged her to continue, “No please I’m interested.” 

The older woman looked between her and the two other occupants. Her aged face looked confused. She was torn between the truth she knew and the lies she’d been paid to tell. Felicity pushed once more hoping her honest nature would win out. “Lee please I know I’m not crazy I just need someone to tell me the truth.” 

Lee sputtered, “Oh sweetie,” as James pulled her back and took a domineering step forward. “Lee’s confused Miss. Smoak and now we must be taking our leave.” 

He rushed her down the hall with a scowl etched in his normally friendly wrinkled face. Lyla looked after them and sighed. “Did you tell Oliver about the screams?” 

Felicity shook her hand, “No.” 

“Good,” she said before glancing back into the disfigured room. “He seemed odd this morning. I think perhaps this event left him a bit more shaken then even he’d care to admit.” 

Felicity’s sad eyes followed hers into the burned room and asked, “Did he say when he’d return or even where he was going?” 

“Helena, he’s gone to visit the Bertanli family again. He could be gone for mere days or even many months.” Her words left a cold chill around them as if ice itself had found a new home upon the stone laden walls. 

“And she’s a family friend or someone he’s choosing to court?” 

Lyla scolded her lightly, “Don’t do this Felicity, don’t torture yourself like this.” 

She laughed coldly, “Why not? Why not remind myself of where I belong?” She was about to brush past her when Lyla grabbed her hand and slipped a folded piece of paper into her small palm. 

“Maybe where you belong is by his side...” she offered suggestively as she gently squeezed her hand. 

Felicity felt the narrow corners of the paper’s edge rubbing softly over her palm lines and sighed, “Lyla...” 

She just squeezed harder at her hand and replied, “Thea was right...” she then leaned forward and brushed a motherly kiss to her temple. “You deserve more,” before she finally released her hand and walked away. 

Felicity clutched at the small yellowed paper as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. She rapidly blinked them away and bitterly scolded herself, “He’s not worth this Felicity, no one is...” 

With that she shoved the paper into her pocket and stormed down the narrow staircase until her face was met with the refreshing air of a perfect winter’s day. 

* * *

 

Night fell quickly which was mixed blessing on a day that felt like it would never end. Thea for once had left school with no one screaming for her head. All of her tutors had been silent and with the arson mystery at the estate Felicity’s day had been downright boring. She’d taken numerous long walks through the melting snow along the various pathways and trails that the estate offered. She’d taken pictures of the deer as they fled, she’d tried to learn how a sundial worked even though she had learned the trick years before, and that only filled two hours of her day. 

She thought about taking the road into town. She’d thought about it until she remembered that’s how she’d first met Oliver. His note was still hidden in her jean’s pocket like a burning flame upon her skin. Her fingers would casually dance along the edges about once every hour just so she could remain tormented by her cruel fate. She was about to give into temptation when her phone buzzed. Thea had texted. Her classes were done three hours sooner than usual so she’d quickened her pace and jogged back to the estates garage. 

All of that was four hours ago....

Now with Thea before her she felt both preoccupied and lost as she glanced upon her charges smiling reflection. Thea caught the stare, “Lissy wanna hear something amazing?” 

Chuckling Felicity smiled and resumed braiding the young woman’s hair. “Sure I could use some amusement so whatcha got?” 

Thea pulled out her own folded note and waved it the air suggestively. “Ollie said yes!” 

Felicity paled. “He agreed?” 

Thea caught the shift and narrowed her eyes, “Yes but that’s not why you went pale...Lissy?” she countered softly, “Did Ollie leave you a note as well?” 

Felicity blushed and tied off the braid. “Don’t be ridiculous Thea,” her muffled words seemed to push Thea into asking another question. 

“LIssy...tell the truth, he gave you a letter didn’t he?” 

With rolling eyes Felicity flippantly replied, “Thea don’t read into something that’s not there. I saved his life he’s probably saying thank you that’s all.” 

“Yeah and I’m a fairy princess.” 

“Thea,” Felicity pleaded, “Please don’t make me go through this again. He’s my employer and you’re his ward. We share a professional relationship and that’s that. So what did your precious note say?” 

Thea smiled despite Felicity’s words and proceeded to unfold her personal note. “He said and I quote,” 

Felicity backed into the gold colored dressing table and sat lightly at the edge with her arms folded across her chest. “Spare me the act Thea,” she nearly begged with annoyance which made Thea’s face sparkle with happiness. 

“Spoil sport,” she accused before she stuck her tongue out in defiance. 

Felicity did the same as Thea held the paper up to her glass covered eyes and said, “Read it and weep LIssy.” 

Felicity had to squint in the low lit room as she mouthed out the letter’s words. 

“ ** _Thea,_**

**_I know our relationship is almost non-existent but I want that to change. My first act of contrition is to say yes. Yes go on that date and wear the new dress which was bought specifically because green was your and Tommy’s favorite color. I’ve made many mistakes in regards to your care and I’m endeavoring to change that. I’ll be gone for about a week. I’ve gone to see Helena and her family and yes it’s business related. (wink, wink) When I return I hope to spend more time rebuilding our brother/sister bond._ **

**_Warmest Regards,_ **

**_Oliver”_ **

Felicity shrugged her emotions aside and screwed her simple smile back into place. “That’s wonderful Thea, I’m extremely happy for you.” 

Thea grinned and resumed applying various shades of eye-shadow over her right eye. “I can’t wait till next weekend,” she grinned as Felicity sat there hoping that this girl’s greatest wish actually came true. 

“I’m sure nor can he,” she offered lightly as she picked up a pale lip gloss for her to try out. 

She took the offering and grinned madly, “Next weekend can’t come soon enough!” she claimed happily as Felicity silently looked on. 

* * *

 

 Tucking Thea in that night was simple. She’d gone willingly so she could start dreaming of her date next week. Felicity placed a kiss to her forehead as her soft snores began to linger in the air around them. She’d tiptoed through the adjoining door and proceeded to slip her tennis shoes off before moving to flick on the desktop lamp. There sat her fairly new computer along with various tools that made hacking a good release of frantic energy. She lifted the lid and pressed the small power button. Her body eased instantly the moment her fingers touched the keys. 

She sat watching the various start up screens move rapidly before her. Once she was to her login screen she paused wondering what the letter contained. In a move she was sure to regret she pulled out the crinkled note and placed it beside her keyboard. She eyed it carefully wondering what new torture awaited her. She sighed first deciding that virtual torture was better than the written kind. She brought up the Google search page and typed in the name she’d heard earlier. 

“Helena” she wondered aloud. “Who is the mysterious beauty?” she asked quizzically as the various images began to populate. Felicity’s heart sunk. This woman was flawless. Her long brown hair had highlights of red littering through the perfectly straight mane. Her eyes could be violet they were so striking and as for her face well Felicity was sure she’d made more than one grown man weep. She tapped through each one growing more nauseated by the second. “She’s perfect” she commented aloud before tabbing back from the images pages to the newsfeed page. 

There before her was article after article of the heiress and her beastly consort. Every paper from England to Maine was already busy planning the wedding of the freaking century and here she was powerless to interfere. She slammed the computer shut in frustration when she saw the tenth headline with the tagline of the Beauty and her silent Beast. 

“He’s not a beast,” she growled to no one as her eyes darted back to the folded note. Her fingers burned with anxiety over what it might contain. She slowly used her index finger to bring the note forward. The edges tripped over the cracks in her desk as she mentally prepared for the words she was sure would follow. She was nearing the edge of the desk so with no more room left on the surface she pulled one tab upward and started to slowly unfold the paper. His handwriting was pretty she thought silently as she used both hands to smooth out the crinkled edges. Once the paper was flat she let her eyes scan over each pain inducing word. 

**_“My Felicity,”_ **

Her heart plummeted just like it had the night before when he softly kissed her wrist. 

**_“I only have a few words left to say so here it goes. I meant it, I do want you but you have to want me. You’ll hear that I’ve left to visit Helena and I know the pain that’s going to surely inflict.”_ **

Felicity felt the tears beginning to form as her lips began to tremble.

**_“I know what you’ll surely think and for that I’m sorry. But one thing I’ll never apologize for is how I feel for you. I didn’t mean to cross the lines of employer and employee, i never meant to care for you but I did and I do.”_ **

Felicity drew a sharp breath when she read his last line. 

**_“You’ll always be my girl Felicity. With love, Oliver.”_ **

She slammed her fists on the table and let out a scream that would rival the one’s she heard almost every night. Her throat burned from the painful cries as her forehead fell to the pale, white table. “I hate you,” she kept repeating, as her sobs threatened to consume her. 

* * *

 

Mere hours later once her tears had dried and her head was once more clear she starred at her plain reflection in the dresser's mirror. She had her phone held up beside her with Helena’s picture displayed in all its glory. “He’s going to pick her,” she lamented. “He’s going to love her,” she added. “He’s going to choose the easy path,” she asserted as she made her silent vow. 

“i won’t be this person. I won’t fall prey to these feelings. I know who I am and I know what I want. Love is an illusion as is beauty and fame. Be honest with your heart and be true to your soul....” 

She kept repeating this mantra until the face starring back at her looked as strong and sure as it did when he’d first laid eyes on her. 


	6. Part 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Part 6**

 

It was ten days….

Ten days and still no word from the master of the house, that was until earlier that morning. Felicity heard the end of the conversation as Lyla slammed down the receiver in exasperation. “Damn him” she cursed beneath her breath as Felicity starred.

“Something vexes thee,” she timidly joked recalling a line from a movie she’d seen as a child at Lowood. Lyla attempted to see the humor but Felicity could tell her mood hadn’t improved.

“Hey what’s wrong?” Felicity asked while picking up the half empty coffee pot and proceeding to fill her emptied cup. 

Lyla’s nervous energy seemed to increase which as Felicity knew was never a good sign. “Lyla what did he say?” 

Her hands were at her waist. The usually smooth lines of her forehead were now deeply defined as if they’d been set in wet cement and then dried overnight. “He’s coming home,” she quietly replied. 

“Isn’t that a good thing? I thought normally when he leaves it’s for months or even years?” Felicity’s confusion at the situation only grew as Lyla took another staggered breath and then finally sat down. 

“He’s not coming alone...” 

Felicity’s heart feel freely through her body until she swore she’d heard the thud of the broken muscle on the hardwood floors. “So..” she croaked which made Lyla’s eyes soften in remorse. 

“Felicity I don’t know what he’s up to. I just know that he’s bringing Helena and her family back to the estate. I’ve been given orders to ready the guest wing.” 

Felicity looked down at the steaming liquid and wondered for just a moment if burning one’s throat would enable her to be in a hospital for the length of their stay. Lyla sensing her unrest asked quietly, “I could use some help but I would understand if you’d prefer to stay with Thea at the school.” 

Lyla’s offer was made out of compassion but Felicity had never been a fan of compassionate words given without the actions that never followed. With her eyes still glancing at her other exit strategy she gave her hollow reply. “I’m here to serve the master of the estate.” 

She then glanced up as her mask slipped back into place. “He’s my employer, and I’ll do what is required to make him happy.” 

Lyla’s face became aged and haggard before her very eyes. “You’re in love with him aren’t you?” 

Felicity’s eyes teemed with her still unshed tears as her lips formed yet another watery smile. “Love is an illusion Lyla, and as I told you when you hired me I don’t believe in illusions.” 

She nodded understanding the lie was to keep her heart intact. “I’ll have Lee ready the first three rooms and you can ready the last two.” 

Felicity agreed silently while finally sipping at the now lukewarm coffee. “I’ll make sure Thea’s ready to get her hands dirty once schools done for the day. Also if you would contact all of her tutors and tell them to email me the lesson plans for the next two weeks. If Oliver’s entertaining then Thea will be there right along with him.” She heard her voice growing stronger with each word that passed from her lips. Her pride was coming back as she made the choice to place herself at the mercy of her work. 

She shot Lyla a withering glance, “Don’t worry about my heart Lyla it’s been through much worse.” 

Her friend nodded but couldn’t help but add, “That might be true but Felicity what happens if he loves you?

She dumped out the now cold coffee and rinsed the coffee cup before opening the dishwasher and placing it along the top rack. “Then it will be his mistake and not my own.” Felicity gave her the icy words as she retreated from the warmth of another’s affections and back towards the cold embrace of her own broken heart. 

* * *

 

The east wing was cold, drafty and of course only used for overnight guests. Lee was assigned the first three rooms which were being prepared for Helena herself and then what Felicity assumed were her other family members. She was passing by the first door when she heard Lee’s soft singing voice echoing through the narrow halls. Felicity stilled by the door and leaned into the narrow edge of the opened door listening quietly. 

Her enjoyment was halted when Lee dropped a blanket and had to bend down to pick it up. Her kind, shocked laugh was followed by a bright, “Hello Miss. Felicity! Are you here to help with the other two rooms then?” 

Felicity nodded, “Yes, Lyla said you were finished with these rooms though?” 

Lee smiled and sighed all at once. “I was but with age comes forgetfulness.” 

“Ah you forgot the extra blankets didn’t you!” Felicity teased remembering how she’d done the same thing when she first arrived. 

Laughing brightly she answered, “Yes my dear girl I did. Now why don’t I help you with those back rooms and we’ll call it a day?” 

“I’d like that very much,” Felicity smiled as she held out a hand. taking the bucket of cleaning supplies from the older woman’s plump hand. “Who are the back rooms for if I may ask?” 

Lee shuffled forward and closed the door behind them. “Oh Helena’s family is friends with Oliver’s family so they’ll be joining us as well.” 

Felicity’s brow furrowed just as Lee glanced up. “Confused by that one aren’t you young one?” 

“Yes,” she agreed as they fell in step. “Why would his parents be in the guest wing?” 

Lee opened the fourth room’s door and headed towards the dust laden red drapes. “When Oliver took in Thea it was against his mother’s wishes. Theory was she objected because most felt that she and Thea’s father Malcolm were having an affair right around the time of Thea’s conception.” 

Lee’s back was turned so she missed the moment when Felicity’s mouth fell open and her eyes began to widen. “They really are brother and sister...” she choked out which finally made Lee turn. She gauged the younger woman’s expression and lifted an eyebrow in question. 

“You didn’t know did you? Why she’s always so happy to see him?” 

Felicity’s body was vibrating with thousands of unanswered questions. “Lee keep talking...” she almost demanded as the older woman moved to prepare the unmade bed. 

Sighing she whispered beneath her breath, “He should have told her....” before she glanced up and patted the space next to where she was standing. “Come on sweetie let’s have a chat.” 

Felicity obeyed and walked slowly into the room. Lee had to do a little hop since her stumpy legs were too short to simply allow her to gingerly sit. The sight would have normally tickled the younger woman. Here she was this aged, adorable woman with her gray hairs wrapped up in a 80′s style bun, sitting on a bed with her legs swinging to and fro above the cold floor. She smiled with her eyes and gently called her forward once more like she was talking to scared child. “Come on sweetie some answers I can give you while the others have to remain buried.” 

Felicity’s steps halted, “What has to remain buried Lee? Who do those screams belong to?” 

“I can tell you about his family but some secrets have to come from him,” she answered sternly with no warmth left in her voice. 

Felicity for the time accepted her terms and took the seat beside her. She placed her hands in her lap and bent her head in gratitude for at least a few pieces to the Oliver shaped puzzle. “Tell me about his family Lee, give me one wound so I might understand the others,” she asked bluntly as Lee placed her warm hand atop both of hers. 

“Thea is Oliver’s sister. When Tommy died they found a separate will one for the lawyers and one for him. The lawyers took care of the money, they made sure she’d be well cared for by a group of trustees but that wasn’t enough.” 

Lee’s voice lost some of it’s warmth and old southern charm so Felicity gave her a small verbal nudge. “Tommy knew so he asked for her other brother to take care of her if he wasn’t around to do it?” 

The older woman smiled and squeezed her joined hands gently. “They were best friends but also brothers, Oliver wasn’t surprised when they told him of Tommy’s request. It was that request that severed his relationship with his parents.” 

“They couldn’t accept Thea?” she asked softly. 

“His father could but Moira couldn’t. She’d worked too long and too hard to put her past behind her.” 

Felicity was stunned. “That’s what he meant...” she whispered. She shot Lee a stray glance and caught the older woman’s face falling into a state of sorrow. 

“He lost his parents and the life he was being bred for,” Lee surmised but Felicity quietly recalled the words they’d shared that day on the grounds and knew what he’d really lost. 

She heard Lee blathering on and on about how he had to rebuild himself into the lord of his half sister’s family estate. She heard how he had to burn every bridge he’d spent years building with his father by his side. Felicity heard everything but all her she was able to absorb was after all this time Oliver had done something to mend that un-healable wound. Her heart sunk even further if that was possible as her mind came to the most logical conclusion...

If his mother had forgiven him then Oliver must have made a choice that would end the feud. 

Oliver had agreed to marry Helena.

* * *

 

Two days later...

Night had fallen over the candle lit estate. Oliver had arrived mere hours before the maids had finished putting the final touches on the evenings ballroom. Felicity had taken her leave when she’d heard the car’s dull engines roaring down the gravel drive.

Now with the party a mere ten minutes from starting she had no recourse but to face her fears head on and accept the cruel irony of fate. She heard a sharp, almost cordial knock at the door as she stood before her floor length mirror examining the simple dress she’d chosen to don for the evenings affairs. The knock sounded once more so with an empty tenor to her voice she replied almost numbly, “Enter if you dare...” 

The door slid openly slowly and much to her surprise was not Lyla or even Thea but Raisa. Thea’s “nanny” for lack of a better word placed and hands over the doors edge and casually nodded to the noise at the landing below. “He’s asking for you MIss. Felicity.” 

Her pleasant voice always made her very soul feel at ease but not even her soft tone could make those words seem appealing. “I’ll be down to watch over Thea soon Raisa.” 

The older woman nodded but lingered causing Felicity to gave her a slight side glare. “Rasia was there anything else?” 

She pursed her lips together which made Felicity sigh. “Rasia spit it out.” 

“If you see a chance to tell him the truth take it,” she rambled quickly as she fled down the darkened hall. Felicity was left standing there in her navy colored sleeveless knee length dress feeling bewildered and confused as the evening wore on just below her feet. 

* * *

 

The room was elegance defined. 

Lyla had truly done the work of thousands in the span of three short days. She’d managed to transform the once boring and nondescript library/study area into a room fit for a King. The lights overhead had been dimmed so the chandeliers now lined with thousands of tiny twinkle lights would look like stars in the dark evening sky. Felicity’s eyes dropped down to the usually half drawn drapes. The dark red coloration along the windows usually made her feel like she was stuck in a medieval novel but tonight with towers of tall candlesticks positioned at the middle of each widow the red appeared to glow. 

Her breath was again stolen as she took in the many onlookers and guests that had arrived in the early afternoon to see the would be Queen of Thornfield manor. Her breath completely ceased to be when she saw the object of her silent ire. 

Her dress was red...blood red and lined with thousands of crystals so each time she moved her entire body reflected the dim lighting of the large, round room. Her hair was pinned up on one side to reveal a beautful swan like neck while the rest was draped casually over her bare shoulder. Felicity felt her body beginning to quake and then shudder when Oliver finally walked regally into the room. 

She was near a window so without an ounce of dignity she pulled  at the loosened fabric and forced herself between the fabric and the wall. The only part of her that was visible to the naked eye was the left side of her fire lit face. Sadly that’s all Oliver needed to track her down. His cool, blue eyes were scanning the crowd looking for her she knew, and part of her tingled with happiness. The other rational part of her was screaming for an exit. It was then as her heart and head were waging war that Oliver’s eyes finally found her. 

She froze behind the drapes and internally screamed at her great misfortune. Oliver however suddenly came to life before her very eyes. His paler changed from pale to vibrant as his frown turned into a timid if not eager smile. Helena was at his ear whispering away but the knot in Felicity’s stomach told her he had no idea what she was saying. Felicity saw her slender fingers pulling at his bent elbow, her eyes flashed in irritation as he just stood there like a statue watching a shadowed figure hidden by a thick red curtain. 

Thea was across the room and her attentions were diverted by a very unlikely source. The source she’d later learn was Moira Queen. However in that present moment the only person she saw was Oliver. He too felt the same as he mouthed very carefully, “Come to me”. 

She balked and shook her head stubbornly while mouthing back, “No!” 

He took a daring step forward leaving a very confused Helena in his wake. Felicity’s ire grew. He was the one that made this situation untenable she muttered, he was the one who made her knees quiver and her body shake. It was his fault she felt something she internally whined. It was his fault that she was in love...

The words hit her like a boomerang as they traveled the length of the room and struck her squarely in the chest. Her walls were beginning to crumble and she felt she was quickly loosing her nerve so in hasty attempt to escape she left the comfort of one dark place for another. 

Again fate would intervene. 

“Felicity!” Oliver’s perfectly pitched voice called out. 

She groaned, “Damn perfect timing” before turning on her heel and giving him a slight bow. “Yes Mr. Queen?” 

He gave her on odd look like he’d just been challenged to a duel. She squared her shoulders and asked again, “Was there something you needed sir?” 

Helena watched from his side with growing amusement as she rudely asked, “Why is the help here? Is she your guest or is she here to tend to your unruly ward?” 

Oliver’s smile vanished and in that moment Felicity caught the switch. With her his face was relaxed, he was relaxed but now his shoulders were tense and his eyes were dark. “She’s my guest Helena as are you please don’t forget it,” he nearly slithered as she shrunk away from his side and back towards the comfort of her mother’s embrace. 

“I didn’t mean to overstep Oliver,” she meekly replied as she spared the help that Felicity was a casual glance. “I do apologize I meant no disrespect.” 

Felicity gave her a curt bow as well vocalizing what she hoped would be a parting sentiment. “None was taken. I’m a lowly person who has to work for the respect and honor of being in your overprivlaged presence.” She shot Oliver a glance and ended with, “Now Thea appears to have two very diligent guardians with her so if you don’t mind I’m feeling unwell and would like to retire. Good evening Helena, I’m sure you’ll agree this meeting was anything but pleasant.”

The older woman’s jaw dropped as Felicity turned toward the opening back doors.

She was halfway down the hall when a gentle hand landed like a petal upon her bare shoulder. She shuddered knowing his touch like she’d know her own. “Oliver,” she whispered as he placed his other hand over her other shoulder stilling her movements. 

“Don’t go,” he begged as her head fell. 

“Oliver please don’t do this to me...” her choked up voice urged as he began to pull her backwards. 

“Stop fighting me Felicity...” he asked sounding nearly out of breath as he encircled her with his strong arms. She drew her hands up to his and let her fingers graze over the soft, skin. 

“You’re going to marry her, please don’t do this to me...” she nearly cried as he buried his face into her crook of her neck. She felt the sharp intake of breath followed by the tender kiss to her collarbone.

“Not if you stop me,” he admitted. 

Felicity was thrown, “Oliver don’t be foolish it’s written all over face.” 

He scoffed, “It’s not what you think but first I want your words, I told you how I felt and now I want the same.” 

“Oliver don’t...” she urged as he simply held her tighter. 

“Felicity please, please just tell me you feel the same...please...” He asked while placing soft, tender kisses to her softened skin. “Just tell me the truth...” 

Her fingers closed around his wrists as she let her walls fall for just a moment to enjoy feeling wanted by the one she loved. She leaned her head against his temple and closed her eyes tightly. “Fine I love you,” she breathed lightly. 

A cry of relief flew past the lips at her neck flowing through her skin and down to her core. She cracked a smile and asked cautiously, “Now how do you feel?” 

“I already told you I want you...” he whispered daringly. 

She fought back knowing deep down inside something about this stolen moment of weakness would come back to haunt her. “I want the words Oliver...” 

He grinned and chastely kissed her pulse point before whispering, “I love you as well.” 

Still with his arms around her she pushed just a little bit harder, “If that’s so then I want answers.” 

Oliver nestled his chin atop her shoulder while gently swaying them back and forth. His warmth radiated through her hardened soul until she’d almost forgotten her ultimate goal. “I’m not kidding I want answers and you’re going to give them to me,” she ordered lightly. 

Oliver nestled at her neck and grinned slightly, “Tonight at midnight? In the library?” 

She snuggled closer and once again leaned into his tender touch. “Fine but do me one favor?” 

He chuckled, “Anything...” 

“Don’t let Helena hang all over you anymore.” 

He kissed her temple as his voice glowed, “Aren’t we bossy...” 

Felicity grinned, “Don’t break my heart Queen...” she warned him lightly. 

His tone turned sober as he replied, “Then promise not to break mine...”  


	7. Part 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All intelectual material belongs to Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow

 

 

**Part 7**

 

Being in his arms still left her feeling intoxicated but, it also made her think with her heart instead of her very rational head. She’d agreed while on a drunken high to meeting him once the party had ended and his visitors had been shown their freshly made beds. She’d agreed because his lips were touching her and, caressing her. She’d agreed because despite her best intentions she fell for the wealthy lord of the manor who held such sadness in his breathtaking eyes. 

Felicity watched from her small window in eager anticipation. The last car had departed a mere ten minutes ago. Lyla would still be downstairs in the kitchen or galley as she often called it for at least another hour. She heard Thea’s rather noisy, and possibly slightly drunken entrance about forty-five minutes ago. She had to stifle her growing laughter as she attempted to quietly listen for any signs of trouble. Thea managed to bump into every single piece of furniture she owned based on all the racket that she’d made as she spit out slightly slurred words. “She’s so regal, she’s so...so....” That’s as far as it ever went before she’d start all over again. 

Felicity finally felt her shoulder blades ease when Thea called out sleepily, “Night Lissy” 

Normally Felicity would respond in kind but tonight she feared any additional words would provoke a rather drunken conversation....She’d rather have that confrontation when her pupil was suffering from a mild hangover. 

Her next stakeout position was near her main door. Felicity grabbed the desk chair and positioned it so when she sat her eye would be level with the scratched up keyhole. The brass smell stung her nostrils as she leaned forward and carefully peered down the candlelit hall. The first group of guests to exit the party were none other than Oliver’s long lost parents. Robert Queen looked from her vantage point to be a tall, well defined man with salt and pepper hair. She squinted attempting to find the genetic link between father and son and noted almost instantly that just like his son he held his sadness in his eyes. “She’s beautiful Moira,” he commented lowly as they passed by the once charred room belonging to their son. 

Felicity’s eyes flew to his companion. She in heels only came to his shoulders but her presence and strong jawline made her seem so much taller than the man beside her. While her husband was wearing a light gray suit with a tie to match she was wearing a deep sapphire gown that like Helena’s was covered in enough crystals to catch even the lowest light. This dress however had long sleeves and high neckline. Her regal nature flowed through her as if she’d been born fully formed like the Greek God Athena. Felicity didn’t see the resemblance until Moira finally answered her husbands innocent comment. “She is, but that changes nothing. I rid myself of her for a reason Robert and now our idiot son had placed her right back into our collective laps.” 

Felicity should have felt anger or even rage for the comments made by this faithless woman but all she felt was pity. Pity for this beautiful creature who’s soul was darker than even that of the devil. She inched her chair forward and pressed her palms to either side of the lock as the two links to Oliver’s childhood paused. He attempted to offer her small token of comfort which she rebuked by jerking her shoulder from his timid touch. “Our son has your looks and natural charm but he has my intellect.” 

Robert’s sigh of irritation made even Felicity shiver from the coldness of the moment. “Thea’s not our only problem now...you saw how he took off after that governess Moira.” 

Felicity’s pulse raced as the two continued what they thought was a private interlude. “Yes the dope’s in love but if I know my son his love will be conditional on two things...” 

Felicity’s back nearly broke as she leaned in closer. “Helena would put an end to all of our problems,” Robert brokenly admitted. 

Moira casually nodded her head and even in a shocking display of emotion reached for husbands hand. Unlike his icy wife he accepted the touch and even traced his index finger along the line of her graceful jaw. “Yes but answer this one question honestly.” Moira’s gracious tone made even Felicity melt. 

“Since you asked so kindly I’ll agree.” His words left Felicity both confused and intrigued. 

“Wouldn’t you rather him marry the woman he loves rather than use another simply to pay our debts?

Felicity nearly fell to the floor but thankfully her hands kept her upright as Robert sadly admitted, “Yes.” After that they both fell silent. Robert placed his palm at the small of her back as he guided her towards the narrow stairs that led towards the guest wing. 

Felicity didn’t have enough time to process this latest bout of information before the next batch of people came up the stairs. Helena along with her two sisters led the charge while their parents followed from behind. They unlike the Queen’s were quiet...almost too quiet Felicity thought as the casually glanced from door to door. She inched back until her back was straight as a board against the wooden chair. Her breath hitched when she saw her door rattle. “Shhh she’s in there I know it?” one sister exclaimed while the other pouted, “This is stupid and I’m drunk. I’m going to bed.” 

Helena remained quiet, it was her parents who whispered frantically, “Will you stop that! You know how he feels for the young woman!” Felicity blushed in the darkened room as the two sisters sighed in unison, “Fine.” 

The door stopped ratting a few moments later and once again her usually empty hallway once again fell deathly quiet. 

* * *

 

The timer on her desk buzzed so she rushed to quickly switch it off. She held her frantic breath and waited hoping the loud buzz hadn’t disturbed any sleeping occupants. Thea’s soft snores were tonight not so soft due to her inebriated state. Lyla hadn’t come up yet and Oliver she hoped was downstairs waiting. She carefully placed the timer back onto her worn desk and waited. She heard no floor creaks so she proceeded with caution towards the creaky door. She muttered internally, “Don’t blow this...” and placed her frantic hand over the brass knob. With great care she twisted her wrist until she heard the slight pop from the door’s hinges. She glanced around her darkened space once last time before she ever so gently pulled the door toward her. The hinges creaked as she knew they would so she quickened her pace. They nearly screamed as she pulled. Her eyes flew shut as the door slammed noisy into the side wall. 

Muttering, “Dammit” she opened her eyes and listened for any unusual sounds . Hearing nothing she inched one foot towards the threshold. Again the house was old so of course the floorboards creaked. Her eyes involuntarily rolled, “I would so be a dead spy right now...” she joked as she pressed her toes to the ground and then arched her feet. 

What normally took her seconds now took her ten minutes. Being quiet in this house was damn near impossible she thought as she neared the kitchen door. She could hear the archaic dishwasher as it ran through it’s rinse cycle. The light shined brightly from beneath the small crack while Lyla hummed happily from within. Felicity smiled mouthing, “Sleep well my friend” before nearly running towards the newly renovated library. 

Her pace slowed right when her feet hit the stone flooring of the now brightly lit hallway. She glanced out the windows and squinted when she noticed that one window pane appeared to be fogged over. She toed her way towards it wondering why something so small left her so distracted. She grinned when her imperfect vision saw his slightly beautiful scrawl. Her nose crinkled in the cute button way that Thea had mentioned weeks earlier as she placed her index finger over the small message. Oliver must have heated the surface of the glass with his breath and then used his own finger to leave her a breadcrumb as she neared his location. 

\- Your eyes flutter when you’re nervous.

His message was sweet and innocent but also quite telling. She backed away with her hand over her heart and walked to the next set of fogged up windows. This message was a little bolder in nature but the idea behind it was still the same. 

-Everytime I touch you, you’re entire body quivers with desire.

Her cheeks flushed as she re-read the words. Still she traced over this message just like she had with the other one and grinned. Her next message wasn’t on a window but simply pinned to the closed library door. She ripped the paper free from the lone pin that held it to the wooden door and pressed it to her forehead. “You’re too prefect to be real,” she giggled out loud as her eyes scanned over the blue ink upon the crinkled page. 

\- Everyday I picked five things about you that either bothered me, or intrigued me or that amused me. Tonight I picked five things that enticed me....

He’d left a space between the last word and his ending silo. 

\- If you want the other three I want five in return. 

She chuckled with eyes rolling as usual, “Oh so that’s how you want to play it,” she whispered. 

She heard a sharp creak followed by a low cough. Her head turned so quickly that the end of her ponytail actually ended up smacking her in the face. Her chest exploded in fear before instantly relaxing as she exhaled, “Oliver...” 

He smiled in the way that made her heart skip a beat and shrugged timidly with those perfect hands once more snugly shoved into his pants pockets. “Like my game? he asked almost shyly like they were on their first date. 

She nodded coyly, holding the note tightly between her fingers. “I want answers Oliver...” she reminded sweetly which made his head fall in good humor. 

“Tit for tat Felicity. I give you answers and you do the same agreed?” 

Even from feet away he still made her heart beat erratically. “Let the game begin,” she goaded as she took a step back. 

He in kind moved one step forward and mouthed, “Deal.”

* * *

 

He laughed out loud when her back sharply hit the closed library door. “Really?” she asked appalled by his lack of manners. 

Oliver just shrugged at her and gestured with an adorable head tilt to the handle of the door. “Perhaps my lack of manners will be less appalling if you un-tape the note on the door.” 

She furrowed her eyebrows but did as he asked and shifted her icy gaze toward the handle. “You planned on me being this uncoordinated?” she asked baffled as she carefully pulled at the edge of the folded note. She shot him a dirty look and in a surprising move she even stuck out her tongue. He smirked and gave her a sly wink. She ignored how his smile grew as she carefully unfolded the next key to Oliver’s carefully laid out plans. “Stop being so cocky Oliver,” she warned before her lips parted and she exhaled, “Oh...” 

“I figured you’d find me more appealing if I gave you a reason to,” he quietly whispered as her wide eyes met his. 

She smiled dumbly as she re-read the few printed lines. “So what else about our first meeting made you want more?” she asked as she lightly fingered the note. 

“Can I come closer?” 

“You really are an arrogant ass aren’t you?” she laughed before finally saying, “And yes you may.” 

Oliver stepped forward slowly with his hands still hidden in his jeans pockets. “You know I’ll have you know that no one has every called me arrogant to my face.” 

She wrinkled her nose which made him take a small pause. “Also you’re adorable when you do that.” His words made her throat go dry and her lips part with anticipation. 

“Well apparently no one in your inner circle knows the real you,” she shot back, enjoying the verbal sparring of two maybe lovers. Her back was still edged against the door hinges as he continued his painfully slow if not torturous walk towards her. “Oliver question?” 

He cocked his head and stopped mid-stride. “About the note or about me?” 

She grinned sarcastically, “Haha smartass. No the note I understand and trust me it’s sweet but my question is about this other side game you have going on.” 

He winked and the sly grin turned into a full blown smile. “I want you to work for it,” he answered coyly. 

Felicity crossed her arms. “Oh I’ve done enough Mr. Queen you’’re going to be the who’s working for it...” 

He inched forward while she held her ground and squared her shoulders. “Fine let’s raise the stakes then...” 

“You’re stalling Mr. Queen,” she blurted out which made his head lull forward in laughter. 

“So what if I am?” he admitted honestly. “Once the truth comes out you’ll run from my touch instead of towards it Felicity.” 

His sobering tone made her quote what he’d written in the note. “You called me on my behavior from the moment we met. No one’s ever seen me so clearly without seeing me at all.” 

He grimaced so she kept talking but this time she used her own words instead of his. “I told you I wanted answers Oliver and while I love verbally sparring with you I still need some honest answers before I let my heart openly break before you.” 

“Felicity I won’t break your heart...” he began to argue so she held up a single finger. He fell silent and surrendered the floor. 

“I’ve never been in love before,” she stated as his mouth fell open. She kept going needing him to understand what a large step this was for her to so blindly take. “I spent my life thinking that love for someone as homely as me was a dream and I was okay with that...I was okay settling for less and then you trot into my life with a busted ankle and a wicked tongue.” 

Oliver finally after so much teasing closed the gap between them and placed his palm against her cheek. “I found out Thea was my sister after a party when I was fifteen.” 

Felicity’s eyes fluttered upwards seeing another rare emotion of pain pass across his face. “My cousin used to beat me up for reading his father’s books.” 

Oliver’s body grew rigid as she placed her own hand over the hand upon her face. “It was a long time ago Oliver.” He nodded but the anger she felt raging within him was far from spent as he slowly placed his free hand over the curve of her waist. 

“Are you going to slap me for this...” he wondered aloud as she slowly dragged her fingers down the buttons of his faded plaid shirt. The muscles of his stomach constricted from her slight touch. His chest began to rage like a fire beneath her fingers as she began to trace the outline of his well defined pectorals. 

“Only if you slap me for that...” she casually murmured. 

He grinned and took one more daring step forward. She too moved closer, allowing his arm to rest snugly at her curved waist. “What if I do this...” he questioned as his carefully slipped his fingers beneath the undone hemline of her soft teeshirt. His skin felt warm and confronting as he very slowly began to rub small concentric circles into the small of her back. 

“Maybe but that would depend on how you react when I do this...” Her heart felt like it’d just been through a 10 mile marathon as she very unskillfully attempted to undo the bottom button of his shirt. 

Oliver eyed her skeptically but ended up laughing when her finger became caught in the button’s former home. “I take it this is a new move for you?” 

She glared, “Every move is new for me Oliver...” 

He chuckled and then nuzzled the crown of her head gently with the tip of his nose. “We can take this as slow as you want Felicity.” 

His words eased a part of her mind but the other part then wondered why. So in keeping with her need for an honest relationship she joked, “So moving at the speed of a glacier would work for you?” 

He pressed his lips to the space between her brows and kissed her softly as he whispered, “I’d wait a thousand years if it meant I’d be with you.” 

Felicity leaned into the caring kiss and breathed, “Oliver?” 

He pulled back slightly as his thumb caressed her cheekbone. “You want to sit don’t you?” 

She nodded happily, “Yes, yes I really do.” 

With that the conversation was halted as he slipped his hand into her own and slowly twined their fingers. “Let’s go to our spot shall we?” 

She shook her head agreeing silently as Oliver opened the door and ushered them inside. 

* * *

 

Of course their spot was the two chairs next to the normally roaring fireplace. Oliver had flipped the lights back on so it once more felt like the ceiling was their private night sky. He pulled her along and she blindly followed so her eyes could capture every single point of light that helped to illuminate her pale face. She was so distracted that Oliver had to gently tug at her undone hair to grab her attention. 

Her head snapped forward, “Yeah?” 

“We’re here,” he said quietly as her eyes focused and she saw yet another token of his affection. There on the table between the two chairs was a leather bound book. Felicity looked at him strangely, making him chuckle in understanding. “It’s my truth,” he explained. “Well as much as I’m willing to give you at this tender point in our relationship that is.” 

Felicity nodded as she ran her fingers over the raised engraved initials. “Why did your mother give Thea up?” 

“Not the question I thought you’d start with he replied as she delicately lifted the top of the leather binding. 

She agreed with a head tilt and replied, “Part of my charm.” 

He mumbled, “A very small part..” which made her twist towards him. She leaned forward on her tiptoes intending to kiss his cheek but instead of his whiskers she met the corner of his very appealing mouth. She shrieked. 

“I’m... wow I’m so sorry...” 

He gave her a confused look so she attempted to explain. “Well I mean I want to kiss you, kiss you but well I mean I’m not sure of who makes the first move or how or....” 

He placed a finger to her lips interrupting her rant with, “Felicty?” 

“Yes?” she half slurred back. 

“Kiss me,” he ordered. 

Felicity never one to disobey an order did as she was told but added one last barb before giving him a very chaste peck to the lips. “Orders are all well, fine and good Mr. Queen but a kiss is as far as I’ll let your orders go...” 

He nodded in understanding as she slowly placed her lips along his upper one. She slowly pushed them together as she formed an almost perfect “oh”. Oliver trembled beneath her as his hands flew to her waist. He gently gripped at her waistband as she yanked roughly at his buttoned shirt. The kiss didn’t grow into some passionate exchange because for her the moment he simply touched her was in and of itself a passionate exchange. His tongue lightly traced along her bottom lip as she moved her hands up to cradle his cheeks. Oliver moaned, “Felicity” as she dared herself to match him move for move. She timidly slid her tongue along his upper lip and grinned into each small kiss as he growled for more. 

She moved back slowly feeling instantly empty as she took a deep steadying breath. “So why did she give Thea up?” 

Oliver’s head fell with an almost dull thud. “You are stubborn aren’t you?” 

She agreed happily before pecking his pouting lips once more. “You promised.” 

He had so with she sensed great trepidation he took her hands in his and led her to the loveseat that he usually sat on alone. Once he had her head on his chest he eased his fingers through her hallow of blonde hair. She busied herself with picking at the buttons of his shirt as she brought her legs up to rest across the other half of the chair. His chest rattled her teeth as he began to speak. “My father knew of the affair.” 

Felicity choked, “What?” 

Oliver pressed a kiss to her temple, “He knew but because of his relationship with Malcolm’s wife he kept quiet...” 

Felicity let that last statement sink in before saying, “So Tommy was your father’s child and Thea was your mothers?” 

Sighing he confirmed her theory. “I did what I did because it was my brother asking. I knew about the scandal because in a drunken moment my father spilled the beans. Tommy didn’t. He died thinking Malcolm was his father so when I took in Thea...” 

“It was like committing a cardinal sin.” she interrupted as Oliver confirmed her words. 

“Yes by accepting her into my family I’d all but confirmed the scandal that my mother spent year’s burying. She traded her daughter for power, I however used my father’s indiscretion to seize the Merlyn families holdings since Thea was Malcolm’s only legitimate heir. Once I’d done that I’d not only outed my father my proved that there was some truth to the decade old rumors.” 

Felicity was stunned but still she yearned for more. “Is that how you lost your family?”

He nodded against her head. “Yeah once they were confirmed as being the scheming people they were they wanted nothing to do with me. They’re only here now because they think I’m going to marry Helena.” 

Now this was what Felicity wanted. Her body went rigid and Oliver was quick to notice. “I’m not marrying her Felicity she’s a means to an end as I am for her.” 

Felicity exhaled her nerves and cried out, “Thank God!” 

He chuckled somberly, “Yeah but since we’re using each other...” 

Her happiness ended quickly. “You have to keep up appearances...she’s part of that merger Lyla mentioned when I first got here isn’t she?” 

“Yes. She’s dating the head of the board. She’s going to use his jealousy over our “relationship” to sway the vote. If all goes well then I’ll acquire my families company in the next merger thus...” 

“Giving you full control over Thea’s future since she’s also an heir to that throne as well right?” 

Oliver’s chest fell, “My mother is devious, she’ll do anything to gain control of Tommy’s shares which...” 

“He gave to Thea,” she concluded as she glanced up. “This is all to give her a real life isn’t it?” 

Oliver’s smile grew a bit as his blue eyes twinkled, “Yes.” 

Felicity’s heart began to glow as he asked a question of his very own. “I know you have more questions but for tonight can this just be enough?” 

She gnawed on the idea. She wanted to know who was screaming each night. She wanted to know why Helena agreed, she wanted to know every detail of his life but that meant she’d have to share her own. She recalled the peace offering that was lying innocently on the table. Making a choice she was sure to regret she kissed the underside of his jaw and give her conditional reply. “Okay but I get the book for keeps and we keep meeting here every night.” 

“Why the meetings everynight?” he asked genuinely. 

“Because, I love you and I want to spend time with you.” 

Her words even shocked her but she didn’t take them back. She knew he was hiding things from her and she knew that at least one of his secrets was going to break her heart but she’d chosen her path for better or for worse. “Do we have a deal then?” 

“I do love you...” he murmured as he kissed her forehead before draping his arm over her shoulders. 

She hummed in approval knowing they’d each just made a choice, the question now remained was it the right one? 

 


	8. Part 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Part 8**

 

 

Opening her eyes today was downright enjoyable. She stretched her still deliriously happy body outward like a butterfly shedding its cocoon. The starch cotton of the sheets around her suddenly felt softer than silk as her toes gently curled. “Hello sunshine” she gently called out to the empty still room as the sun began its slow journey towards its highest peak in the sky. Beyond her near the foot of the bed came a low but still delectable chuckle. 

“You can’t honestly be this cheerful this early can you?” 

Felicity grabbed at the loose pillow behind her head and threw it downward hoping to hit him squarely in the chest. “You didn’t have to sneak into my room last night?” she smiled almost a bit too brightly recalling the events that had led them here. 

Oliver had done what any well bred, properly raised young man would do. After the somewhat condensed talk they’d so briefly enjoyed in the downstairs library Oliver had insisted on escorting her upstairs. Felicity of course had protested. Oliver however let her in on another closely guarded secret. His middle name happened to be stubborn. After she’d regained her composure from her very ill timed giggle outburst she gracefully accepted defeat by letting him claim his prize. 

The prize in this case was a chaste kiss to the cheek and very small, but still very intimate nose gaze. His thumb was still grazing her knuckles when she slightly turned to open her rusty hinged door. She murmured, “Goodnight” as her hand found the brass handle. He too echoed the sentiment and began to release her. She could feel him struggling but thought nothing of it as her hand once more fell softly against her hip. She made it through brushing her teeth and combing her hair before she heard her forgotten menace. 

The screams weren’t as guttural; because they were simply too loud. Felicity had been so distracted that she didn’t hear the slight knock on her bedroom door; all she could focus on was the high pitch wails that seemed to penetrate only her seemingly delicate ears. 

“Daydreaming again?” he asked from the ground. 

“Hmmm? What?” she replied back confused as Oliver placed a warmed hand over her blanket covered feet. 

He repeated, “Are you okay?” as she mindlessly drifted back and forth between last night’s dream and now. His touch made her mind race and her throat go dry as her voice squeaked out a query of simple confusion. 

“How loudly was I screaming?” Her question was an easy one considering the screaming had all been in her head. 

He cocked that handsome face with those squinty blue eyes as his right palm slid easily over his worn expression. “I told you I heard a sharp, almost painful cry. I shot up after being asleep for less than I think ten minutes with a racing heart.” 

She nodded, “Yeah keep going...” 

He smiled easily, “Felicity I told you I heard you screaming from some apparent nightmare so I reached up to the top of the door frame for the spare key. After I’d managed to jam the bent metal into the aged lock I shouldered open the door and raced to your side, grabbed your shoulders and called for you to wake the hell up.” 

She reached behind her fluffing the remaining pillow. Oliver raised an eyebrow asking, “Felicity come on what’s really bothering you?” 

She exhaled almost in defeat as she adjusted so her head was resting against the pillow along the bed’s headboard. “You’re going to think I’m crazy but...” 

Oliver shifted so now her feet were resting between a cage of his well toned upper arms. He bent his elbows and began to lean forward so she felt the tip of his chin right at the cap of her knee. She smiled easily as he brought his clasped hands to rest over her covered thighs. “How bad can this confession be?” 

His question left her with rolling yes and wrecked nerves. “Oh trust me this one’s a doozy if I’m right.” 

His easy grin and carefree attitude as he remained half lying over her lower body made her body tingle and warm with each passing moment. Her feet were pressed to his side so she gently poked him with her big toe making him groan, “Hey!” 

She grinned shyly while twining her fingers together and placing her clasped hands over her upper stomach. “You’re being arrogant again...” she explained with an air of immense satisfaction. She couldn’t help but beam with pride when she felt his amusement traveling along her legs as his chest shook with contained laughter. 

“Felicity please?” 

“Okay,” she relented while laughing. “Okay.” 

She snuggled back into the relative warmth of her bed and then boldly untwined her hands and patted the empty space beside her. “Your knees have to be begging for relief,” she hinted as his eyes rose. 

“My, my aren’t we being bold,” he asserted with his distinct humor laden voice. 

“Oliver just come here,” she huffed as he leaned backward and held up his hands. 

“Now who’s the bossy one? 

She rolled off her back and onto her side making sure to give him enough space to spread out along the left side of the bed. “Jerk, take the offer before I rescind it.” 

He was coming around to the other side just as she gave him a sharp stare. He gave her the wink that made her blood boil before pulling at the edge of the ruffled comforter. Felicity pushed her toes together as she tucked her legs up to her chest. Oliver snuggled down into the old but still comfortable mattress before reaching out to lightly pull at her tee-shirt laden waist. His eyes sparked with the unspoken question of consent. She gently nodded before mouthing, “Yes” He immediately pulled her closer. She lowered her legs as he used one leg to bring both of her defined calves between his own. She looked at him with wide questioning eyes, “Oliver?” 

“You’re feet...” he said it so quietly she’d nearly missed it. 

“My feet?” she repeated which made Oliver lips curve. “I thought they’d be cold.” 

Her heart skipped a beat from the kindness of that small moment. Once her legs and toes were sufficiently surrounded by his personal warmth he let her decide how much closer she wanted them to be. His fingered roamed up and down over her bare arm with ease as he softly stated in a hushed tone, “Remember everything we do has to be done at your comfort level.” 

Felicity nodded while pulling at her bottom lip, “Who knew...” she mused. 

His fingers stilled over her outer shoulder, “Who knew what?” he mused right back as she inched forward. 

“You’re awfully sweet when you choose to be,” she explained as his fingers traced down the length of her extended arm. His eyes felt like lasers as he fixed her with a very poignant stare. 

Felicity felt flushed from the attention of his lingering gaze and trembled as he twined their fingers and drew her hand upward until his lips were on her knuckles. She felt her breath catch in her chest as he lazed his lips over each raised inch of her hand. “Now who’s stalling?” 

Felicity glared but muttered, “Touché,” as their chests finally touched. Oliver released the breaths he must have been holding as she whispered, “I’ve heard the screams before.” 

Oliver’s lips froze over her tightened skin as he sighed, “Felicity...I,” 

Right as he was about to say his next words a loud very teenage groan came from behind the other inner door. “Oh my God why did I have those five glasses of champagne?” 

Felicity hid her face in his shoulder as he whispered against her ear, “Remember something for me?” 

She kissed his pulse point whispering, “Anything.” 

Oliver’s muscles tensed and his voice shifted from sweet and relaxed to nervous and scared within ten seconds. Had she been less distracted she would have caught how distressed he suddenly became. “Remember, I love you...” he whispered as he kissed her cheek. 

She sighed with contentment but knew their stolen moment would soon be at an end. Thea’s voice was becoming louder which meant she was getting closer to their shared door. “You better get out of here before she see’s you,” Felicity whispered with a small kiss to the underside of his jaw. 

She too was about to drag herself out of bed when he caught her wrist. She gave him a shaky, “Oliver?” as her body stilled. His eyes looked wide with fear as he breathed, “Just remember okay? Remember I love you okay?” 

She nodded quickly, “I promise, but Oliver...” 

“Felicity!!!! Please tell me that you know how to cure a hangover!” 

Felicity glanced at the door and then back to Oliver. “Tonight in the library?” 

“Or maybe we can just meet here?” he asked almost timidly for someone who just hours before had been fast asleep on her cold floor. 

“Felicity! Why the hell aren’t you answering me!” 

Felicity groaned, “Okay deal but Oliver as much as I love this....” 

“Get out?” he interrupted with an almost sadistic smile. 

She reached out and pinched his ankle in response as he released her wrist and finally took his own leave. She grabbed her discarded robe and resumed her usual morning activities which for once she was actually looking forward to.

* * *

 

“Why? Why did I do this to myself?” Thea groaned from the floor of her bathroom. Felicity once Oliver had taken his leave had gone to care for Thea and her apparent hangover. She’d found her with her head between her knees. 

“Because you’re sixteen and it was a party where the great Moira Queen was in attendance perhaps?” Felicity called out from the other side of the room where she now stood picking up Thea’s discarded outfit from the night before. 

“She’s so regal Felicity....so regal...” she repeated before her words were swallowed by the sound of her stomach creating another source of torment. 

Felicity dropped the dirty items into the clothes hamper by the bathroom door and leaned against the door frame waiting for Thea to decide how much help she wanted while she laid there with her face in a very white toilet. “Thea wanna talk about it?” she asked carefully as the younger woman lifted her face and frowned. 

“You’re enjoying my misery aren’t you?” 

Felicity gapped, “What me? No....” she lied with a large smile. “Wanna explain the drinking to me?” 

“Ha, yeah....” she shrugged as Felicity moved into the small but still fairly well appointed bathroom. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but laugh. Her hair was gathered at her neck with various pieces of it falling freely from the hairlline at her crown. Her glasses highlighted the bags of exhaustion but for once she didn’t care, as she moved to sit on the other edge of the toilet. Felicity glanced at the bowl and then at Thea before she made an executive decision and pushed the flusher down. 

Thea jerked her head back and yelped, “Gross! That could have hit my face!” 

“It would have been a pleasant reminder of your poor choices,” she remarked while lowering the lid and bringing her knees close to her chest. With her back snugly positioned against the side of the cabinet she began again. “Thea the day isn’t going to improve on its own...” she let her voice drop slowly so the own was exaggerated. 

“Felicity...come on...” 

“Thea today, I’m not getting younger and you’re hangover certainly won’t improve without water and food,” she poked verbally as Thea shrugged and huffed. 

“I was nervous,” she eeked out almost a tone above a whisper. 

Felicity beckoned for more information, “And...” 

Thea stole her signature move and rolled her chocolate brown eyes. “I was meeting my mother for the first time and well I sort of just well....” 

“Freaked out sweetie, you freaked out,” she softly interrupted but, encouraged her to keep talking. “So that’s one of the many secrets of this family I presume?” 

Thea gave her an all knowing smile. “Oh please Lee told you before they got here and I’m sure Oliver did more than play kissy face when he chased after you at the party.” 

“Thea!” Felicity shrieked and then immediately followed up with, “Who else noticed?” 

“Well...” she smiled almost coyly, “My birth mother who thinks I don’t know the truth saw him literally drop Helena like a dirty mop as he ran after you. Robert actually smiled, like a full blown I’m so proud of my son smile while Lyla I swear nearly began to clap.” 

Felicity was stunned, “So you’re okay with this?” 

Thea nearly exploded with happiness but had to remain seated due to the sheer magnitude of pain within her very small head. “He deserves to be happy Lissy and so do you. He’s actually being himself again, he’s waking up...” she said with sadness in her tone. 

Felicity reached out and lightly grabbed at the younger girl’s hand. “Cut the crap, you’re being punished for drinking missy.” 

“Crap,” she muttered but smiled as she added, “It’s nice to have an equal in this household.” 

“Yeah well this equal wants you up and moving because guess what? You have classes today!” she exclaimed brightly as Thea’s forehead fell onto the toilet lid. 

“Great my half-brother is falling for Satan....” she moaned making Felicity grin madly. 

“Yup so do as Satan says and get moving!” she ordered as she stood managing a graceful exit. 

* * *

 

Time had never stood still before this very moment Felicity silently mused while watching Helena and the two evil handmaidens follow after Oliver with wagging tongues. She watched with varying degrees of amusement as the taller, slender one kept reaching out and lightly swatting at Oliver’s chest. He’d smile politely but she could see it in the way he held himself that her touch was clearly not welcomed. 

The second sister was just as clumsy. She was plumper than the other one but her face was twice as beautiful. She opted for the casual brush of her hand against the back of his whenever she walked past his side. His usual lively eyes went dead with boredom each time she made a clumsy attempt at flirting. 

However while the other two were downright amusing Felicity couldn’t help but sit up a bit straighter when Helena finally re-entered the room. This woman was regal, but she was also Felicity sensed dangerous. Granted Oliver claimed they were both in on the scam something in the way she so easily draped her arm over his shoulder made her insides burn with jealousy. 

The thought made her heart actually quake with anger. Felicity was never the jealous type. She never felt envy for another, hell she’d never even felt passion for another but when she saw Helena reach out so casually for Oliver’s hand as he passed by towards the back room, something inside her snapped. 

She waited for a few moments. The two sisters of zero intelligence followed Oliver like two blind puppies as he made his way towards this afternoon’s hired entertainment. Felicity stayed hidden in the shadows until Helena made a very light but still fairly clear invitation. “She’s an interesting hack, but interesting none the less. Aren’t you going to join in on the fun and games Miss. Smoak?” 

Felicity moved towards the light and even despite herself bowed slightly. “Helena,” she greeted joylessly as Helena’s head bowed. 

“So you’re the pretty distraction that’s come to ruin all my hard work.” 

The chill in the other woman’s tone made Felicity’s blood thicken as it slowly turned to ice. “He said you two weren’t involved?” 

Helena gave her a serpent like smile and gazed coldly over her right shoulder. “Moira, you’re son has gone to have his fortune told perhaps he’d like some parental company?” 

Felicity felt a slender hand fall upon her shoulder. She smelled lightly of lavender and lilacs with a chill of winter upon her pale skin. “Yes perhaps you’re right...” she seethed before making her formal introductions. “Pardon me Felicity is it? I meant to greet you last evening but per Thea you apparently felt ill?” 

Felicity gulped harshly and coiled her fingers into a tight knot. “I’m better now Mrs. Queen, thank you for asking.” 

The older woman patted her shoulder as she edged past her. “Good then perhaps you’ll be able to contain your charge during these evenings’ events,” she called back before giving Helena a gentle smile and a kind, “Good Day my dear, I’ll see you this evening.” 

“Of course Moira,” she called back just as kindly. Felicity noticed that like Oliver, Helena hid her emotions in not only her tone but also in her eyes. 

What stunned her was how dead those eyes suddenly became when Moira entered the room. What left her winded was when they brightened back up as she held out her perfectly manicured hand and gestured for Felicity to sit. “Oh just take a seat and ask your damn question.” 

“Rude aren’t you?” Felicity commented coldly before taking the offered patterned chair. 

“Finally,” she said with a hint of cheer to her tone. “ I knew he wouldn’t fall for someone with no backbone...and yes I’m quite rude.” Helena looked over her plain blue dress with no frills and sensible shoes and began to tisk. “Well he’s certainly not with you for your looks now is he?” 

Felicity crossed her legs and then her arms protectively over her chest. “Well I knew he wouldn’t fall for a bitch like you so I guess we’re even then aren’t we?” 

Getting a laugh from anyone was a gift but getting this woman to crack a smile must have been what winning a verbal war felt like. “I like you,” she nearly cackled. “But we still have a problem...” 

Felicity narrowed her eyes, “He’s in love with me Helena,” she seethed as she inched forward. 

Helena did the same. “Oh that very well may be but I control Thea’s fate and you...” she shifted her tone and leaned even closer, “Well you control nothing. So do us all a favor and let him go.” 

Felicity was about to open her mouth when she remembered her old boarding school days. She glanced down at Helena’s clenched fist and smiled. She was nervous and Felicity intended to find out why. She leaned back and settled fully into the chair. “Or perhaps I’ll just keep him and ruin your plans in the process?” she poised while Helena’s face scrunched up into a tight ball of fury. 

“You’re not of his elk,” she feebly threw out while Felicity retained her cool and laughed calmly. 

“Well neither are you, I mean at least I’m of the same species but you my friend well you are something entirely different.

Helena turned red so Felicity pushed harder. “You know I was meaning to ask you when you came out of the fortune teller’s room you looked...” she paused looking upwards as she slightly tilted her head. “sort of pale.” she finished with a click of her tongue. “Why was that may I ask?” 

Helena fumed as the metaphorical steam came out through her petite ears. “She was speaking utter nonsense,” she began to babble as the door behind them opened. Felicity sat back up, unfolded her arms and placed her hands neatly in her lap. She smiled shyly with false fear as the terrible twosome came out each one holding one of Oliver’s biceps. He gave her a tight “Help Me” smile as she lowly greeted them. “Mr. Queen, ladies, how was your visit with the fortune teller?” 

“She’s fantastic!” the one called Mable squealed. 

“Oh yes she’s wonderful! Oliver didn’t you think so? I mean you were in there for almost ten minutes?” 

His face tightened as his lips thinned into a very visible grimace. “She’s fine, Miss. Smoak may I have a word with you?” 

His short, clipped tone made the hairs at the back of her neck stand up straight. “Of course sir,” she nodded instantly while saying her silent goodbyes to the other occupants in the room. 

Helena was the one to request a verbal one. “Felicity?” 

She stayed seated and asked in a fake shy tone, “Yes ma’am?” 

“Join me for tea tomorrow while Thea’s away? I’d like to know more about what it is that my dear Oliver pays you to do all day.” 

Felicity saw the reaction her words drew from her overly impressed sisters and smiled softly at Oliver’s as he nearly lunged for Helena’s throat. “He pays me to do what you could only dream of doing Helena...” 

“And what would that be?” she asked like she’d gained some invisible ground. 

Felicity stepped forward and leaned down to whisper in Helena’s ear. “He pays me to use my brain...” 

She moved back and gave Oliver a sly wink. “I’m ready when you are sir,” she commented almost demurely as he detangled himself from his new throng of screaming fans. 

“This way Miss. Smoak,” he said while gesturing towards the parlor’s doors. 

“Of course sir,” she smiled with her face hidden from view. 

* * *

 

Oliver was patient enough to wait for the doors to fully close before grabbing her waist and pulling her into the room’s hidden alcove. “Hi,” he whispered as he began to suck daringly at her neck. 

“Oliver, you give me a hickey and I swear I’ll throttle you in your sleep,” she darkly declared as her nails bit into the small of his back. The groan of pleasure her touch elicited from him made her stomach flip and churn with a foreign array of emotions as the back of her head thudded harshly into the paneling of the wall behind them. “Seriously Oliver, your bride to be is already angry with me…” she managed to blurt out as her lungs ached for a chance to take a full breath.

His hands began to roam along the sides of the pale, blue material of her dress. He murmured at the connection of her collar bone and sternum, his breath tickled at the dampened skin making her knees began to shiver. “I’m not marrying her Felicity…”

Felicity tried to nod in opposition but failed as his lips trailed down to the hallow of her throat. She hummed in approval as he began to drag his fingers harshly up the sides of her thighs. Felicity tightened her fingers at the nape of his neck and nearly cried out, “Oliver please!” Thankfully just as her lips parted to scream Oliver’s lips crashed down over her own.

Muffled by his kiss Felicity found that her body was beginning to tingle at the sensation of his hands roaming freely over her entire body. She felt him caressing every square inch that he could reach without having to access the zipper of her dress. She moaned against his lips, “Way too fast…”

He chuckled but pulled back panting with his cocky grin, “Sorry.”

She sighed and slowly dragged her fingers along the sides of his perfectly whiskered face. “Liar,” she teased as she drew him closer and lightly pecked his lips.

He kissed her again slowly as he began to pull at her waist. “So what did I miss with Helena this morning?” he asked after they parted. She leaned into his touch and sighed just as their foreheads touched.

“She’s jealous and then I was jealous and well it just sort of dissolved from there really…” she admitted as she hummed in happiness at the patterns his fingers drew along the sides of her waist.

“Hmmm jealous Felicity…”

She used the hand at his cheek to swat his shoulder. “Don’t tease me; I’m new to this whole being in love in secret thing! I’m not used to having a secret relationship that both Lyla and your sister approve of by the way,” she muttered contritely as Oliver gently kissed her nose.

“I’m sorry,” he slightly groveled before he asked, “Are you going to be free tonight? I want to finish the conversation that we started this morning.”

Felicity pulled back a little and gazed up him in confusion, “Oliver we made plans to meet this morning? Did you forget?”

“No,” he shook his head. “No I was afraid that Helena might have scared you off.”

She grinned widely and kissed him soundly in response.

“So not scared?” he joked as they broke apart.

“Yeah not scared in the slightest…” she answered before she found his lips once more. 


	9. Part 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Part 9**

 

 

Oliver had a way of making time stand still. Being surrounded by him struck every raw nerve in her body. She felt alive for the first time in her life and it was beginning to scare her, it was beginning to consume her, and that was beginning to become a problem. 

After Oliver was called away on some mysterious errand she was left bereft and most importantly bored...

Helena was still holding court in the pallor; her two sisters were both cowering at her feet as they “coyly” begged for her scrapes. James and Lee were both working away doing what they did everyday and Thea had class for another two hours. Felicity had already walked the grounds twice, she’d had her verbal catfight with Helena, been insulted by Moira and of course she’d had the impromptu makeout session with Oliver...and now she was left with nothing to do and time to kill. 

“You should visit the fortune teller I hear from very loud sources that she’s quite a sight to behold.” 

Felicity turned her head and glanced upward to see Jimmy, James and Lee’s son. He smiled kindly gesturing towards the three bickering idiots, “How does Master Queen stand them?” 

Felicity hid her laugh with her hand before replying, “He has a high tolerance for vanity I suppose.” 

The young man chuckled, “I suppose but really I think that fortune teller he hired might be more umm “stimulating” than watching those three compare Oliver notes.” 

Felicity had to agree. They’d been going back and forth for almost an hour now. Mable the thin one kept talking about his broad shoulders and his adorable dimples while Alice the plump one just kept sighing. Helena however was the worst because while they had to imagine a connection she had a tangible one. 

Felicity stood instantly as the fires of jealously once more began to burn within the pit of her growling stomach. “She’s really better than this?” she asked pointing towards the three women who were now waxing philosophically about the merits of having or not having a faux fur coat. 

Jimmy nodded, “Yes please one of us should be saved from the debate of fur or no fur for the winter line.” 

“Thanks Jimmy,” she said softly as she patted his shoulder and moved towards the back door. 

“Are you sure about this Jimmy? She might not be ready for what he’s hiding from her,” Lyla stated from behind the younger man’s back. 

He sighed but watched as Felicity slowly opened the back pallor door. “He needs to tell her before its too late Lyla.” 

Lyla put her hand over his shoulder, “So why send her in there?” 

“Because“ he began with a somber tone. “Because he needs know that this is real for her, he needs to know that while Helena isn’t a deal breaker the other secret will be.” 

Lyla’s heart could be heard breaking in her next few words. “He’s breaking every single rule for her and for once...” she took a deep breath and continued. “For once I want him to see it through.” 

* * *

 

Felicity hated how the heavy door always seemed to slam shut with a loud angry thud. She always jumped a bit which made her feel stupid and childish. 

Taking in the room was her next order of business since Lyla had ordered the room’s decor to be altered to suit the theme of the afternoon. Felicity couldn’t help but smile at the crate paper balloons and the various strands of white twinkle lights that were casually falling from the wooden beams above her head. She brushed her fingers along the see through paper as she passed slowly down the hall and towards the door at the end. 

She could imagine the giggles that must have echoed through the walls when Oliver had his turn in the room with this mysterious woman. She even imagined the two sisters’s trading insults while they waited for their Helena’s prize to come back from his enlightening session. She was almost to the door’s narrow opening when a strange not quite feminine voice called out from beyond the darkened room. “I sense another visitor has come to have their fortune read.” 

Felicity was already a doubter in anything other than rational scientific fact; this little display prepared her for the show she was about become a part of. She used the tips of her fingers to gingerly push the door until the hinges creaked loudly. “Come closer my little disbeliever...” the still disembodied voice ordered. 

Ever the obedient soul she moved closer until she was met with two thick black drapes. “Push them aside my child...” 

Felicity couldn’t hold her tongue any longer, “Do all fortune tellers order their visitors or is that just your particular style?” 

The person still hidden from view chuckled and something in the low sound of her laughter felt painfully familiar. She attempted to place the tenor or pitch of the sound but was left distracted as she pushed the drape back and walked into the semi darkened room. Before her was a standard table covered in a black table cloth. Incense of lavender and sandal wood burned around them, coating the room with its thick aroma. The smell actually stung her eyes as she blinked rapidly to combat the tears that had begun to form. “What cat caught the mystic’s tongue?” she asked with burning lungs. 

“So much sarcasm...don’t you believe in the power of magic Miss. Smoak or did your youth destroy the power of believing without seeing?” 

Felicity nearly gave her a standing ovation. “Wow you are good. So who gave you which cues?” 

The teller raised her oddly gloved hand and pointed almost elegantly toward the chair opposite her. Felicity grabbed at its back and casually took the offered seat. The teller waited with an unnerving patience. Her body was covered in a darkened shroud with small specs of what she suspected was glitter over the section at her face. All Felicity could see was the piercing blue of her very intimidating eyes. “You’re starring my child...” she quietly observed as Felicity flushed. 

“You seem oddly familiar to me,” she answered honestly with some hesitancy behind her tone. “But really who gave you those cues? Was it Oliver or Lyla?” 

Again the teller seemed amused as her shrouded body shook with thinly veiled amusement. “Oliver hmmm, not Mr Queen or sir?” 

Felicity frowned, “I see no point in holding a pretense when the person isn’t even in the bloody room.” 

“You care for him do you not? Perhaps more than you should I suspect?” 

Felicity blanched. “You’re reading my body language now I see,” she gulped. Her fingers were at her throat as the teller asked another leading question. 

“Yes you care for him but, he’s hiding something from you, a secret perhaps? Maybe about a curious nightly scream?” 

Felicity would have gone pale had she not already been stark white. “Cut the crap who are you?” she demanded no longer buying the paid attraction act she’d been so carefully portraying. 

She carefully traced over the deck of tarot cards before her as she slowly began to respond. “I see you’re a tit for tat type of girl so let’s play a game...I give you an answer once you do deal?” 

Felicity felt the familiar tug of annoyance as her words slipped freely from her clever tongue. “Arrogance must be a family trait...” she poised which made the teller scoff. 

“Hmmm yes it is but perhaps you’re on the wrong path. Let’s try it my way shall we?” 

Felicity leaned forward and tapped at the lover’s card. “Fine what questions does my lover have?” 

The teller leaned back and stoked her gloved fingers beneath her chin. “He’s nervous and perhaps a bit scared of how you’ll receive the truth he’s yet to reveal.” 

Felicity still feeling a pull towards this foreign person leaned back and crossed her arms defensively, “Perhaps he should trust my feelings for him instead of constantly second guessing them.” 

“Perhaps its how you convey them...are you verbal about your affections? Are you physical? Or are you simply a cold fish?” 

“Watch your tone. You’re a stranger who knows nothing of my past,” she bit back angrily as the teller shifted her tone. 

“You hold him at arm’s length Felicity. You’re scared of being in love aren’t you?” 

Felicity shrugged shyly. “Love wasn’t freely given in my world. Nor is it being freely given now,” she began to explain before she was interrupted. 

“Miss. Helena is quite beautiful is she not?” 

The question might have seemed odd to the casual observer but to Felicity it felt right on target. “She’s his match in both wealth and stature. She can give Thea her birthright while all I can offer is friendship,” Felicity breathed as the teller poised her next remark. 

“Yes but what if he made a public declaration? What if he made his feelings for you known would that make you more expressive with your own?

Felicity chewed over the question for a few moments as the teller remained silent. “You think me closed off don’t you?” Felicity asked the question in order to shift the dynamics of the game. 

The teller nodded into her steepened fingers. “Yes, you’re present and even somewhat affectionate but something holds you back, something keeps you from fully expressing what you want.” 

Felicity nodded in defeat. “This will end.” She breathed it so simply that it oddly felt like she’d just unburdened her soul.

“How so?” the teller asked with a tone that nearly sounded like a female Oliver. 

Felicity smiled sarcastically. “He’ll choose her; he’ll choose to be with the person who’s going to make his life better. I can offer him compassion and yes even my heart but what I want from him might be far greater than he can comprehend.” 

The veiled woman leaned forward and pointed down at the lover’s card once more with her angled chin. “Do you love him yes or no?” 

Felicity choked back a sob. “Yes.” 

“Enough to fight for him?”

Felicity choked back her flaring emotions and replied in kind. “Only if he’ll do the same. Tell me teller of my future does he love me enough to fight for me? Does he realize that lying to me is only going to hurt us?” 

Felicity saw the teller’s body shift. The veil over her head slipped a fraction to reveal more of the woman’s face. Felicity squinted in the dim light sensing that perhaps her feeling of familiarity wasn’t so crazy. 

“Tell me your name,” Felicity asked very gently as she inched forward. “I feel that someone who’s trying to dig through my subconscious should at least have a name don’t you agree?” 

She shifted again, the glove slipped off the gentle slope of her hand only to reveal a fairly masculine one. Felicity’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me?” she said in a mixture of annoyance and subtle anger.

He shrugged gently, “I took an acting class in college...” 

Felicity saw red. “If you doubted my feelings for you why the act? Why not just ask me how I felt when you had your tongue shoved down my throat? Hell how could you doubt me when I let you shove your tongue down my throat!” 

Oliver removed the black shawl and the black pair of gloves. “I was trying to get information out of my mother and Helena. The fortune teller act worked by the way but well after you’re interaction with Helena earlier today I wanted to see if you were really okay...” 

Felicity picked up the lover’s card and threw it at his forehead. He ducked missing it by an inch as it flew past his ear and to the floor. “You’re an idiot,” she commented but then had to add, “What did you learn then?” 

Oliver pulled off the rest of the black garb and casually joked, “We need to work on your aim baby...” 

Felicity stopped short of throwing another tarot card at his head. “What did you just call me?” 

Oliver’s smile grew into something that would make even the strongest woman falter. He carefully reached across the table with an outstretched palm. “I called you baby...” he chuckled softly. 

Felicity gulped roughly, “Yeah umm that’s, that’s a pet name Oliver...” 

“Yeah so is honey which I’ve often wanted to say when referring to you...” he answered slowly with his hand still waiting for hers. 

Felicity sat there frozen with her palms running up and down her upper arms. “You called me baby...” she repeated. “You want to call me honey,” she ranted before yelling, “But you tried to get a confession of love out of me by pretending to be a god damn fortune teller! And a female one at that!” 

Oliver began laughing out loud, “Oh my God Felicity....” 

She glared at him sternly, “You creep...” 

Oliver continued to laugh hysterically, “You’re really mad at me aren’t you?” 

Felicity finally reached forward with her hand formed into a fist and with all the might in her slender form she slammed that fist into his open faced palm. Oliver’s laugher turned into a pain filled cry as he yelled, “DAMMIT FELICITY!” 

Now she was the one laughing hysterically, “Oh I’m sorry baby did that hurt?” 

Oliver glared, “Feeling better now?” 

She nodded soberly. “I’ll stand by you through anything Oliver you know that right?” she said completely shifting the mood of the conversation.

His eyes softened and his frown shifted into the smallest smile, “What if I have to marry her Felicity? What if I can’t give Thea her birthright without giving Helena the status she wants? Would you really be the person who held me at night while I held her hand during the day? Could you really be the woman who had to hide in the shadows?” 

Felicity knew he was scared and her nearly breaking his hand was her way of showing her own emotional state. She also knew that Helena didn’t love him. She knew that she did, so she told him the truth even if it meant breaking both their hearts in the process. “I’ll stand by you Oliver but I won’t be with you if you’re married to her. I’ll hold your hand and comfort you as you fall asleep, but only until you’ve said those vows. I love you Oliver but I won’t be your mistress, I won’t settle for part of you when I deserve all of you.” 

Oliver’s crestfallen face made her suddenly regret her moment of honesty. “I can’t accept being the other woman Oliver...” she tried to explain as she replicated the gesture he’d offered before she’d crushed his now bruised palm. 

She tentively moved her hand toward his shaking fingers, “Oliver, this is generally when you use your words to convey your thoughts and feelings.” 

Oliver’s stormy blue eyes now looked almost gray as he slowly pressed his fingers into the center of her open faced palm. Felicity felt a small bead of sweat beginning to trickle down her back. Her nerves were on fire and her heart was pounding as he let the silence continue to expand around them. “Oliver come on...you had to know that I wouldn’t be your mistress...” 

“I knew,” he sighed. “I just...” 

“You just what Oliver? Thought that loving you meant I’d sacrifice my principals?” she lightly interrupted with a hint of anger in her tone. 

He folded his fingers over the sides of her hand and squeezed gently. “I knew you were better than that Felicity,” he nearly crooned with a soothing tone that made her both smile and frown. 

“Trying to dissuade my anger are you,” she joked lightly as she moved her thumb against the knuckle of his index finger. 

He smiled easily, “Would you like to hear what I learned from Helena or would you rather continue this rather depressing conversation?” 

Felicity shifted her neck so her head bobbed slightly in response. “Is that a yes or no Felicity?” 

“It’s a yes,” she blurted out making him chuckle loudly. 

“Well first off my “marriage” is not yet a done deal.” 

Felicity leaned forward by inches as their forehead’s touched. “Why didn’t you just say that!” she chided as their noses touched. “So how is your “marriage” going to be averted oh mystical teller of futures untold?” 

If she could have seen his face she would have turned beet red. “Mason Cartright.” 

She squeezed on his hand, “Elaborate...” 

“Mason was her boyfriend and I suspect still is...” 

Felicity felt a small glimmer of hope beginning to bloom brightly in the tight chest. “He’s your next surprise isn’t he?” she asked nearly preening with internal delight. 

“He’s going to make a grand entrance,” Oliver began before he ended with a nose graze and a parting promise. “Trust me by the evenings end my impending wedding well be a long forgotten memory.” 

As he said his last words he leaned over the table to give her a one armed hug. Felicity accepted his touch easily as her mind began to envision a world where she didn’t have to have secret meetings with fake mystics. 

* * *

 

“So what do you know about Mason Cartwright?” Felicity asked Lyla as they moved around the dining room with plates and forks in hand. 

Lyla placed the two plates down on the table and motioned with her head towards the other two empty places. “He’s a cad and ironically Helena’s equal why?” 

“Nothing I was just wondering about the newest name card at the dining table that’s all,” she answered innocently. 

Lyla set the silverware down with a thud. “Look I know you two have been meeting eachother in what the library, the pallor room today, and I suspect he’s even been in your bedroom so what gives? Did he tell you why Mason was coming or are you just digging for dirt?” 

Felicity took a step back, “Are you angry with me?” 

“No...” Lyla sighed, “But Felicity, Oliver has secrets and I just don’t want those secrets to hurt you.” 

She nodded understanding the protective nature that she’d come to respect in the slightly older woman. “Why won’t anyone tell me about this secret Lyla? Why won’t you just tell me since you seem to know? Why not just spare me this unending torment and just tell me already,” she nearly begged as she pulled out a dining room chair. “Why won’t he tell me Lyla?” she moaned. “Why won’t he just tell me...” she asked to know one but herself. 

“Felicity, it’s...” 

She was just about to spill the beans when a loud crash followed but what sounded like a gunshot interrupted their conversation. 

She dropped the napkins she’d grabbed when Felicity had gone to sit down and took off like a shot towards the opening doors. Felicity followed her temporarily forgetting their almost insightful conversation.

James was beaconing for them with both arms as he yelled, “Gauze and tape quickly!” 

Lyla scurried towards the hall’s “medicine” cabinet, removing stacks of gauze bandages and tape as James kept shouting, “Hurry! He’s been shot!” 

Felicity thinking it was Oliver ran towards James’s retreating shadow but froze when she saw not Oliver on the ground but....

“It’s Mason Cartwright,” Lyla whispered at her ear before she had the chance to ask her question. 

“Right,” she nodded as Oliver threw her a small glance. His eyes didn’t look worried like she’d expected. He actually seemed calm before the chorus of screams broke their silent conversation. 

“MASON!” Helena bellowed from the opening doors as the two loathsome sisters followed in her stead, clawing at their garments and wailing. 

“Oh my! He’s been injured!” 

Felicity couldn’t help but be annoyed. There they were fluttering about while a man laid before them bleeding from where she wasn’t quite sure. Lyla was now beside him, her hands were covered in gloves and her face was set in a stern position as she carefully peeled back his soaked shirt. “It’s a small wound Oliver, the bullet went straight through,” she called back over her shoulder before she stuck out a blood covered hand and gestured widely for Felicity to come forward. “I need you to apply pressure here to help quell the bleeding while I find a sterile needle and thread.” 

Felicity moved forward on auto pilot but was stopped by a somewhat rigid hand over her right shoulder. “Let me,” the voice spoke almost gingerly as she gently pushed past her shoulder and rushed to Mason’s side. 

Felicity stood watching with not shock or even awe but with a changing attitude as Helena did something kind for someone else. Lyla came back with her the needle and thread. She looked over the situation seeming to accept the change, she even threw a wink at Oliver whose lips curved into a secret smile as he held his friend’s hand in his own. 

Helena moved towards Mason’s head and softly traced her fingers over the sweat covered hairs upon his damp forehead. “You stupid man,” she muttered. “How in God’s name did you get shot?” she asked quietly before glancing up at Felicity and asking, “I’m not good with blood, can you help Lyla?” 

Felicity not understanding why she’d stopped her before if that was the case answered with as much grace as she could muster, “Of course...” 

“Helena, Felicity. You can call me Helena,” she interrupted before bending her head towards Mason. “This is Mason by the way my fiancé...” 

Felicity’s eyes flew open with both shock and a sliver of hope,” Fiancé?” 

Helena glanced around the room. Her sisters had left when Lyla had shown them the door. James was seated by the door rubbing his hand over his face with slumped shoulders and a frown. After she’d taken a mental head count she continued. “It’s complicated but yes we were..and then Oliver and well...” 

Lyla interrupted next. “Felicity, Mason proposed to Helena about a year ago. She said yes and then this...” she made him flinch as he squeaked, “Hey! Watch it Lyla! That’s skin you just pinched!” 

She glared and made the formal introductions. “Mason this is Felicity, Felicity the bleeding man that I’m pushing a needle into is Mason.” 

Felicity finally shifted her gaze towards his beet red face smiling politely. “Hi,” 

He grinned with the same cocky ease that Oliver often used and replied, “Hi,” before shifting his shining, pain filled eyes to Oliver. “She’s cute and let me guess she’s your late night savior?” 

All eyes fell on her as she dumbly nodded, “His room was on fire.” 

Helena was the first to break the silence as she removed her hand from Mason’s brow and gently swatted at Oliver’s shoulder. “You didn’t confront that poor delusional woman did you?” 

Oliver was about to reply but Mason beat him to the punch. “She’s a little unbalanced and frankly with his family and the lovely Felicity here he didn’t want her deciding to torch another room okay?” 

Helena glared and Lyla poked him again on purpose as Felicity asked, “So ummm she shot you then?” 

He shot Lyla a dirty glance, “You’re doing this on purpose aren’t you?” 

She easily replied, “Yes,” as she poked him again. “Felicity take that glove and once it’s on put your index finger here so I can finishing sewing up the wound.” 

Felicity picked up the glove, did as she was told and pressed her index finger gently to the edge of the bullet hole. “Right here?” she asked as Mason’s body shifted in pain. 

“I think you’ve got the right spot Felicity,” he croaked as she winced. 

“Sorry,” she whispered as Helena replied, “Don’t be he’s the idiot who got shot.” 

“Right,” she interceded as she rounded back to her first question. “But how is it you’re going to marry Oliver if you’re engaged to Mason?” 

Lyla smiled ruefully and answered as the three before her fell silent. “Mason and Helena like to push and pull at their relationship. Oliver being Mason’s one and only friend is often apart of this idiotic game until it became more about position and less about actual feelings isn’t that right Helena?” 

The brunette actually blushed, “He lost his fortune what did you really expect me to do? Marry for love? Please!” 

Mason attempted to laugh but it came out as a sharp yelp, “See and this is why we will never work as I was trying to tell Oliver when he invited me up here to take you back!” 

Every eye in the room fell on Oliver. Felicity removed her finger from the now sewn hole and carefully removed the glove as Oliver gave her an imploring gaze. “You wanted a public declaration didn’t you?” he asked with hope filling his voice.

She averted her gaze and busied her hand with gathering the unused medical supplies. “I wasn’t expecting this…” she gulped. “I was expecting nothing,” she cowardly admitted.

Mason shifted next to her knee and asked, “You do realize he’s crazy about you right? Like gee let’s bring Mason here tell Helena that regardless of her actions he still wants her back kind of crazy.”

Felicity finally looked him over with a withering gaze. If he’d been standing he might have been around Oliver’s height or perhaps slightly taller she honestly wasn’t sure. His fair skin and blondish brown hair reminded her of Oliver’s perfect features but it all ended with this slightly crooked smile. While Oliver’s teeth were perfect Mason had a slight chip along his bottom incisor. His eyes were green like a pine tree and while he was handsome enough he lacked the scruff that Felicity longed to feel brushing along her pale cheeks. Lyla coughed interrupting her wandering thoughts. “Felicity you’re starring and I think Oliver is getting nervous…” she hinted while gently patting her knee.

Felicity’s skin paled before it turned red. “Mason’s eyes twinkled as he spoke, “She’s crazy about you Ollie that much is quite clear.”

“I can speak for myself Mr. Cartwright,” she boasted which made the reserved man smile.

“So you can,” he replied and then added, “So do you want him or not?”

Felicity looked between him and then Helena. She weighed her next words carefully and even inched a fingernail towards his freshly bandaged wound. “You laugh at me or embarrass me in anyway and trust me you’ll pay,” she warned with a hint of actual danger in her eyes. Mason nodded but it was Helena who asked, “Would you allow us to continue our plan if it meant that in the end Oliver could be with you?”

Felicity again weighed her words knowing that one slip would end her relationship with Oliver. “I won’t be his mistress Helena, his wife yes but not someone who he hides like a dirty secret. I won’t be anyone’s secret.”

Lyla patted her knee in silent support, Mason smiled dumbly and Helena gave her a confident smile. “Give us tonight. Let me secure Thea’s future and by the evening’s end you’ll be nobodies dirty secret agreed?”

Felicity finally turned to Oliver whose face was lit up like Christmas morning. “What do you need from me?” Felicity asked more to Oliver than to anyone else.

His slight smile made her heart thump even harder than a few minutes before. “Come to dinner tonight?”

He left the question open for her acceptance or rejection. She saw Lyla’s wink was covering a sad smile, Mason was grinning despite his gunshot wound and Helena was seeing another option for her once lost future.

Felicity took a silent gulp and finally breathed, “Yes.”


	10. Part 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Part 10:**

 

 

She slammed the door just as his fingers curled around the flat edge. She heard him snarl out a low but still angry, “Felicity” as she kicked off one silver heeled pump before stepping out of the other. “You arrogant, selfish, inconsiderate….”

“FELICITY!”

She stopped but refused to turn as she continued to glare towards the back wall. “Some moments should be kept between two people and not shared with the entire assembly of the house,” she quietly declared while she attempted to keep her wild temper reigned in. Oliver sighed but not in the contrite way she felt would be appropriate.

“I did what I felt was best Felicity, hell I did what you asked!” he countered back with again more anger that she honestly felt she deserved.

She crossed her arms over her heaving chest; she then counted silently to ten before she exhaled deeply and slowly began to turn. Her stomach flipped at the sight of him. One hand was placed at his waist with a finger stuck between his belt and the loop of the waistband. His other hand was placed snugly at the nape of his neck as his fingers rubbed almost roughly at the tension filled knots of his upper spine. She couldn’t help but drink in how perfectly crisp his dress shirt looked when he took even a simple breath. The low light of the room seemed to draw the eye toward his taut stomach muscles as the shirt hit over the well defined curvature of each well sculpted pane. He must have shrugged off his dinner jacket since his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows leaving his beautiful forearms exposed. Her eyes continued to betray her as they moved down past his trim waist. Her stomach burned with an entirely different fire as she drank in the way his charcoal gray pants hung over the perfect V of his lower abdomen. She swallowed her breathless sigh and focused on anything but the sharp, defined line of his scruff covered jaw. His now molten blue eyes sent sharp spikes of envy through her teeming body as he bent his head and released a heavy sigh. “I told an entire room that I wanted you…hell I told an entire room that I’d found my equal and you just walked away…”

She felt the tremors beginning to form at her toes as his words slowly passed through her ears and straight toward her quickly crumbling heart. He moved further into the room. She glanced over his shoulder to find that her door was closed and somehow the oil burning lamp had been lit. His footfalls echoed through her quivering body like thunder just after the lightening disrupted the tranquil night sky. He took each step with a hole within his heart, what hurt the most was she’d made the hole. Her stance faltered slightly when her knees began to buckle beneath her. “You took me by surprise…” she quietly admitted in an attempt to halt the pain his very physical response was creating within her.

With sad eyes and a very furrowed brow he fell with a heavy, if not saddened thud to the edge of her mattress. “I asked you to marry me Felicity…” he argued with even more sadness then she knew one person could express with so few words.

“I know,” she began as he lifted his head.

“Felicity did I make a mistake? Did I just ruin everything for something that will truly never be?” His question struck every raw nerve within her small body. With a fair amount of trepidation she inched closer while making sure to maintain a barrier between his now quaking fingers and her shivering ones. His gaze felt like he’d lit a match inside her lungs. She could feel the smoke from the flame rising through her tight chest as the flame consumed every ounce of oxygen left within her. She coughed slightly, attempting to extinguish the flame but nothing worked. His gaze just relit the match over and over again until she could feel the dying embers falling through her seemingly frigid form. His frowning lips shifted to a state of concern as Felicity began to slightly sway. She unclasped her crossed arms as her lids began to grow heavy. She could make out the small clumps of mascara over her long lashes as they began to flutter rapidly. “Oliver…” she sputtered, “I’m…” was all she managed to squeak out before her knees gave out and the ground began to rush upward.

* * *

 

Three hours earlier….

“This is not a dress I should be wearing,” she argued timidly as Oliver grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her into his newly unburned room. He glanced down the hallway before he closed the door and placed a gentle hand to her lower back.

“Felicity humor her please? Helena rarely does anything out of kindness,” he pleaded as he ushered her further into the newly furnished room. Felicity let herself be led toward his sitting area as she took great care to examine every last detail of the simple if not understated opulence of his new room. The fire had destroyed the old oak paneling so she suspected instead of having the paneling replaced with the original material Lyla had gone for a modern update. The walls were painted in a light gray hue with white trim along the baseboards. Felicity smiled reflecting on how the color scheme matched a picture of some home repair magazine that she’d been looking through about a month before. She also noted that the red couches and chairs were now gone, what had taken their place again was simple, basic and clean. The white of the new furniture made the room seem brighter and even in some cases more spacious than before.

“Lyla was busy…” Felicity commented as she rounded his new glass covered coffee table.

Oliver’s warmed hand fell a bit further down the line of her spine so his pinkie dangled right at the juncture of where her spine met her upper buttock. “She said she was inspired,” was all he’d reveal as his lips fell to her bare shoulder.

She leaned back into his chest and smiled briefly when his lips traveled softly up the line of her collarbone. “I like the changes,” she admitted, “but I’m still not wearing this dress,” she added making him huff lightly against her skin.

“It’s one night Felicity, one single night when we have to play a part that’s it,” he lightly countered before banding his arms around her slender waist. The contact made her skin burn and her heart race.

“It’s like a very long halter top,” she lightly complained. “I’m showing more skin then could possibly be seen as appropriate,” she suggested while snaking her fingers through his own as he held them over her own taut stomach.

“Just wear the dress please?” he again began to plead as his lips began to travel up the line of her carotid artery.

She let out a shaky and somewhat nervous laugh, “But I feel like a hooker…” she began to explain as a loud cough broke the silence.

“Helena may be many things but a hooker isn’t one of them,” Lyla stated as she emerged from the bedroom holding a silver bag in one hand and a pair of silver peep toe pumps in the other. “But seeing as your styles…” she said sarcastically as she moved her eyes up and down the scene before her, “vary drastically I felt this might be a more palatable option.”

Oliver’s chin fell on her shoulder as he lightly commented with humor evident in his cheery tone, “Is that the one I requested?”

Lyla shook her head and smiled, “Why do you doubt me?”

“I retract the question,” he stated earnestly while Lyla walked toward them.

“It might be a bit tight in the hips but otherwise this should fit you like a glove okay?”

Felicity nodded as she leaned her cheek against Oliver’s, “I love you…” she whispered making Lyla wink and Oliver grin.

“I was kinda of hoping you did,” he replied before asking Lyla to place the garment bag and shoes in her room. Lyla did as instructed but not before leaving them with one parting comment.

“Remember you love each other. Remember neither of you is better without the other okay?”

Both parties nodded not fully understanding the warning she’d been attempting to convey. Felicity felt Oliver’s posture and mood shift while she remained content to stay safely wrapped in his warm embrace. Lyla took great care to shut the door gently as not to disturb them but something in her last statement must have slowly been seeping into Oliver’s mind. With his arms still banded at her waist she asked, “Do you completely understand her last warning or are you truly just as confused as I am?”

Again she felt him shift, his back straightened enough so his chin was no longer resting over her bare shoulder. She attempted to lean further into the cocoon of his warmth but found his touch had gone somewhat cold. “Oliver if you want to unburden your soul now would be the time,” she urged with a kind amount of gentle urgency.

“It’s more than a few minute confession Felicity,” he began as his arms fell from her waist.

“Then you owe it to me before you literally throw me to the wolves Oliver,” she stated back as her hand flew up to grasp his retreating shoulder. “You want so much of me and yet you still are keeping things from me, you’re the one who’s not being honest in this relationship not me.”

She pressed her fingers gently into the tensing muscles of his shoulder and added with a slightly lower octave. “Whatever it is we’ll handle it together.”

His shoulders slumped and his arms moved until his fingers were raking through his soft, cropped hairs. “Trust me I want to be honest with you but,”

“But what? Oliver what are you hiding from me?” she interrupted right before she spotted what looked like a flicker of stray light beam through the crack at the bottom of the closet door.

She squinted; her hand fell from his shoulder as she moved toward the silent disturbance. Oliver’s posture shifted as he followed her soft movements. “Baby…” he started but then fell silent as he asked, “What’s causing that?”

She glanced over her shoulder and smirked, “Oh I have an idea…” just as she placed her hand over the sliver curved handle. She pushed down rapidly after that and yanked the solid oak door forward glaring when she saw the low light of the offender’s cell phone. “Hello Thea,” she said sternly as the younger woman flushed.

“I got lost?” she countered as she peeked around Felicity’s waist to a smiling Oliver. “I wanted to see the dress,” she began to explain right as Felicity shut down the conversation.

“Thea, room, yours, now…”

She bowed her head and mumbled, “Killjoy,” before she stowed her cellphone and clumsily began to crawl out of the closet hole. Felicity glanced behind her and slowly asked, “Oliver does this house have hidden tunnels?”

He crossed his arms and grabbed his chin, “At least twenty that I know of why?”

She directed him with her head towards the darkened space, “I think that’s how your late night firestarter found her way in.”

He stepped closer but took great care to avoid touching her even if by accident. She looked over his hardened stance and felt the small wall of ice between them beginning to grow. “It would make sense wouldn’t it? I mean you didn’t hear anything and I certainly didn’t until after the blaze had been set so…” she let the sentence end flatly as Thea reached up and tapped a small wooden toggle to the left of his coat rack. The solid door slid almost soundlessly back into place.

“They run throughout the grounds actually. I have two tunnels from my room one leads here and the other leads to the gardens outside…” Her face went red when Felicity caught her wrist.

“Gardens?” she voiced with a stern foregone conclusion.

“Two weeks?” she just threw out with a fallen head and a bent back.

“Tomorrow,” Felicity said leaving Thea with a sour face.

“I’m seeing more like four aren’t I? “

Felicity nodded, “Try six.”

Her pupil nodded as Felicity let the subject and her wrist drop. She gave Oliver a small smile and retreated before her Governess could add even more time to her sentence.

“I’m guessing there’s more to the story then I’m aware of?” Oliver asked while his fingers searched along the inner walls of his closet.

“Yes,” she breathed recalling how she’d first realized that Thea’s dating life wasn’t as innocent as she hoped. She was about to elaborate but held her tongue. Winning Thea’s trust had been hard enough and by telling Oliver about the nearly forgotten incident she’d be destroying the only relationship she had that was completely honest in every way. He glanced at her before scrunching his brows and continuing his search.

“Are you going to elaborate?”

“No,” she nearly spat. “No. It’s done and over. Am I free to go? I do have a dinner to prepare for,” she explained with an air of annoyance and dread.

Oliver now was so consumed with finding the other possible tunnels that he simply dismissed her with a simple, “Yeah I’ll have Lyla escort you…” before he disappeared behind a row of suit jackets.

She didn’t bother to reply, she just turned on her heel and left leaving him to his numerous secrets and at least one bold faced lie.

* * *

 

The hours moved quickly as they often did when you’re dreading an upcoming event. The lamp on her vanity casted enough dim light for her to gage her somewhat underwhelming appearance. The dress in the bag from Lyla had been complete perfection. It wasn’t some black or blue frock like she’d expected. It was instead something out of the Cinderella fairytale. She did a small twirl before the mirror with her arms spread out around her.  The gold bodice sparkled like the dresses she’d seen paraded before her all week. Each small diamond caught the low light of the lamp, making her skin glow and her heart flutter with anticipation. The dress flowed down past her knees and towards her ankles from just beneath her breast line creating a simple but classic line of grace and elegance. The gold coloring continued past the bodice for another three or four inches until it began to scatter and fade making the gold inlay appear to be rain over a crème colored sidewalk. Her chest was covered much to her great pleasure since the collar of the dress was anchored at her neck leaving her arms and shoulders completely bare. What left her a bit scattered was imagining how his lips would feel as they travelled over the slender curves of her upper shoulders. Her stomach lurched with instant desire as she began to imagine how his palms would feel when they were gently pressed against her flat stomach. She closed her eyes and gripped the railing of her bed as she dared to imagine how she’d teem with need as those strong hands began to wonder past her navel and towards her inner thighs. She was almost to imagining the sounds of her hollow screams when a sharp knock shattered the illusion and pushed her back to the present. Her head shot up. Her chest was heaving rapidly with a mixture of strange feelings. Her finger pads were sore from the rod iron railing of the unforgiving bed frame and her cheeks were flushed from imagining his hands bringing immense pleasure to her entire body. “Just a moment,” she croaked as she caught her reflection in the mirror. “Shit” she murmured as she glanced at the time and moved quickly towards the door. She grabbed the door and pulled it back harshly with an apology halfway out of her mouth.

“Lyla I’m so….You’re not Lyla…” she gasped as he maneuvered past her barely open door.

He cocked his head and shot her a dazzling smile. “No I’m not but if you ‘d prefer her to me I can always…”

“No!” she grabbled frantically. “No I was just taken aback that’s all…” she finished. “What made you change your mind?”

He fumbled with his silver cufflinks as he starred down at his black dress shoes. “I keep telling you I love you and yet my actions keep stating the opposite.” He looked up with a hint of remorse and twinkle of hope evident in those perfect blue eyes. “You should be on my arm not hiding behind the curtains.” He explained knowing she’d understand the sentiment hidden within the phrase.

“You look perfect,” she admitted with a slight amount of resentment. His tux had been custom made so even the lapels outlined each curve of his well defined chest muscles.

He grasped her wrist and moved it up to his soft lips. “You already were…” he confessed before kissing the skin softly.

Her cheeks flushed and her pulse raced. “How does this factor into your plan? I mean you’re supposed to be with Helena…” He leaned forward capturing her lips silencing her endless ramble. He pulled her forward with strong hands as she attempted to gracefully pull him closer by clutching at the lapels of his jacket. She felt his fingers running roughly along her diamond covered spine as his fingers eased towards the top of the dresses zipper. Her fingers dug into the fabric nearly shredding the fine material as his tongue began to explore along the spaces of her mouth. She felt the harshness of his tongue pushing along hers as their lips shifted and moved along the others to form an unbreakable seal. Her lungs burned. His fingers were now fumbling with the clasp of the dress as the other hand began to slowly drag the zipper down. She managed to inch her fingers towards the knot of his back bowtie. Her fingers fumbled helplessly with the tight knot as she began to tumble backward awkwardly. Again her unforgiving railing caught her right at the edge of her lower spine making her eyes pinch together even tighter than before. The uncoordinated thud caused Oliver’s assault on her senses to halt. “I want you…” he growled as he broke the kiss to pull the missing air back into his lungs.

She gulped, “As do I… but,” His fingers froze along the nape of her neck as he took a moment to gage the situation.

He bit back an absurd laugh as he trailed his fingers along the exposed skin of her back. “I got a little carried away…” he admitted with a whisper as she retorted, “Yeah my makeup and dress agree.”

The softness of his smile and the light within his eyes reminded her of the first conversation they’d shared with the fire of the library blazing behind them.    
The soft tenor of his tone made her recall their conversation in the meadow as Thea rode in the valley below. “I’m sorry for earlier…” he started which made her heart leap into her throat. “I was selfish and you were right. I’ve done nothing but question you and test you when I’m the one who should be tested and questioned. Can you forgive my shortsightedness?”

Felicity couldn’t resist pulling his lips back down to hers as she whispered against them, “If this is your way of apologizing I can’t wait to see what happens when you really ignite my fury.”

Oliver’s lips curved against her own as they both kept teasing the other. “If I do that you’ll be naked and I’ll be whispering apologies as I move within you.”

She gasped. Her fingers wound through the now loosened fabric of his tie until they turned purple. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep Mr. Queen…” she warned almost hoarsely since his last statement left her throat dry and thighs burning.

He countered with, “I never do when it comes to you…”

Felicity ended the teasing tone of their very playful exchange and kissed him, hard as his finger tips once more brushed along her bare spine. “We have a dinner Felicity,” he barely managed to remind her as she used her leverage to pull his chest into hers. She leaned back until the lower edge of her bottom was resting along the beds railing. Her purple fingers began to ache as she pulled along the silky black material. Oliver used his teeth to pull at her lower lip as his touch grew hotter. The frenzy of his touch was reaching a fever pitch when yet again another interruption broke through their lust induced haze.

“I’m going to burn my eyes after seeing this but Oliver your mother is asking for you,” Lyla coughed awkwardly from the open doorway. Felicity froze with Oliver’s tongue still dancing along hers. He cleared his throat which made her own throat burn as the air fell rapidly through her wanton body.

“I’m getting you a damn bell…” he muttered into Felicity’s mouth as he very slowly pulled back.

Their foreheads touched for a brief moment. “Forgiven?”

She replied earnestly, “Forgiven,” before they finally parted. Oliver then instead of throwing a casual glance over his shoulder took great care in inching the zipper of her dress back into place while Felicity remained solid as a statue before him. He then very carefully proceeded to brush the fallen hair from her delicately French braided bun back out of her eyes until it was behind her ear. The touch of his fingers again seemed to burn an invisible path across her skin as her breath caught in her chest. He smiled but remained silent as his eyes ran up and down the length of her body. “Like the dress?” he asked quietly as Lyla once more cleared her throat.

“Yes,” she quietly answered as she attempted to fix the tie she’d previously undone. His adam’s apple bobbed along the path of her timid touch. His lips parted slightly as she took painstaking effort to return him back to his once God like form. She pulled her thumb over his bottom lip and smirked slowly. “Lipstick,” she explained when his eyebrows slowly rose. She felt him gulp as she repeated the action with his upper lip.

“All gone?” he asked roughly.

“Not quite but it’ll do…” she reassured him while glancing back towards Lyla. The older woman’s eyes had grown soft with unshed tears. Her hands were folded at her heart and her bottom lip quivered when she mouthed, “Thank you”.

Felicity’s own eyes grew moist with unspoken emotions when she glanced back and caught Oliver’s eyes. His look of contentment shifted as he dragged his thumb down along the line of her jaw. “Hey are you okay?” he asked lovingly as a small tear fell.

“Yeah,” she sniffed back. “I’m just overwhelmed that’s all,” she attempted to explain before placing her palm along his cheek. “We have to go before Lyla’s feet begin to tap out a pattern of annoyance along the floorboards,” she commented before they became once more consumed by the other.

Lyla sighed, “Finally” and Oliver huffed, “Fine” in response. Felicity just shook her head at both of them and moved off the railing and towards Lyla. Oliver’s hand on her waist stopped her feet from their small forward movements.

With a scrunched brow she placed her hand over his and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

Oliver again pulled her forward, his head tilted until she felt his lips at the shell of her right ear. “I told you actions speak louder than words…” he whispered as he moved his hand down off her waist and towards her free hand. “And I intend to start showing you instead of just telling you that I’m yours…”

Felicity blinked rapidly. Her lips curved allowing her to whisper, “Oh” as she laced her fingers with his before smiling brightly. “I like this version of you,” she added earnestly making his usually cocky grin grow into one of genuine surprise.

“Me too,” he mused and then gave Lyla a soft I’m sorry glance as they began to once more move forward. Felicity’s body thrilled at the moment they were about to share but her mind kept whispering deeply within her subconscious “he’s still hiding something that could tear you apart”. With a heavy mental shrug she pushed the voice aside and remained focused on her ultimate prize.

* * *

 

 Lyla paused before the dining room’s sturdy doors. “Ready?” she asked with a strict voice and two hands already placed along the door knobs.

Oliver glanced over towards Felicity giving her a soft wink before he gave his final order, “Open the doors.” Seconds later the doors flew open but it wasn’t Lyla’s doing it was Moira’s.

Felicity felt Oliver’s grip upon her hand lessen before she slightly increased her grip. His eyes darted from his mother to their joined hands as his paler began to pale. She felt him struggling to be the man she wanted while also being the man he had to be. Taking the lead she pulled at their still joined hands and very carefully navigated past the throng at the doorway until they were safely beyond its war like threshold. Felicity glanced over Oliver’s broad shoulder; spotting Lyla’s paling face beginning to vanish as the door to the dining room began to close. Her one ally was gone and that meant they were about to face the coming storming with only a life raft and no paddles. She whispered at his shoulder, “Oliver make a move,” before she scanned the crowd for Helena or Mason.

Mason she spotted quickly since his shape and voice tended to draw attention in any situation. He was along the back wall of the room with his arm resting comfortably over Helena’s slim shoulders. Her eyes looked relaxed and lips slightly smiling. “They’ve dropped the bomb,” she hissed at Oliver who was still wordlessly panicking as his mother took control of the room.

“Well now what? She’s gone back to Mason!”

Felicity saw Robert slump back into the chair while raising his hands in wordless defeat. “It’s over Moira. The merger is done. Helena has signed the documents surrendering all her shares to Thea upon her 21st birthday. The deal is done and yes our son no longer has to enter into a marriage arranged for money, take the win you soulless witch and be grateful your daughter doesn’t know the real you.”

Felicity stood by a stunned Oliver as Robert’s words washed over the lingering members of the dinner party. “He’s in love Moira and I’m going to guess it’s with the woman whose wearing my mother’s dress.” He then glanced over and fixed Felicity with a warm stare. “He was planning on ending the merger tonight and announcing his plans to move forward with her weren’t you son?”

Felicity felt the floors below her beginning to crumble. Robert’s eyes remained fixed on hers as Oliver’s voice answered in small somewhat broken sounding phrases. “Yes..yeah dad, I was…I… I’am…”

Felicity saw Moira turn red as Robert simply smiled. “Make your move Oliver and this time do it for the right reasons,” he nearly begged.

Felicity heard Oliver’s sharp inhale right before he exhaled a grateful sounding, “Thank you.”

She looked at him in confusion as he finally looked at her. His eyes were brighter than she’d even recalled seeing them and that knowledge alone made her heart quicken with an unexpected fear. She mumbled, “Oliver what are you up to?”

He raised his voice so he was addressing the entirety of the room while letting her know his focus was solely on her. “I made the deal with Helena to secure Thea’s future that much you already know.”

Felicity felt his hand beginning to shake so she reached for the other one and squeezed along the middle of palm gently. “Oliver you don’t have to do this here…”

He shook his head, “Yeah baby I do,”

She blanched; he’d just called her baby with an entire room of people watching them. Her heart rate speed up for the millionth time in the past ten minutes as his gaze turned from relieved to somewhat scared. “I needed leverage and Helena had it. Marrying her would grant me the access I needed since she had her own game in motion I simply saw my opening and seized it.”

Moira’s cries filled the otherwise empty room, “You ungrateful boy! If not for me you’d have two other people vying for your shares! If not for me his other son would have inherited the company!”

Oliver’s shoulders tensed but he didn’t budge an inch, nor did he shift his gaze from the only object of his affection. “My mother’s right,” he laughed almost coldly. “She gave me a life and for that I’m grateful but she denied the same to my brother and sister.” Felicity felt her fingers shaking against his own. He brushed his thumbs over her knuckles swallowing thickly. “Mason as you now know is the president of my father’s holdings. He and Helena always had the relationship that nightmares were made of,” he paused swallowing hard and finally glancing at the happy couple near the back of the room. “I never meant to hurt either of you but the truth had to be revealed.”

Helena nodded but it was Mason who spoke, “I’ve already signed over the company Ollie, Helena signed over her shares as well the company is yours on one final condition,” the words hung in the thick air like a stagnant fog. Felicity felt Oliver’s body shudder when Mason finally breathed, “Thea gets the controlling shares. She’s your sister but she was also Tommy’s. You already control Merlyn enterprises so she needs to control the Queen estates. That’s my sole condition take it or leave it.”

Oliver’s gaze flitted back to hers as he calmly said, “Agreed.”

Moira’s shouts of agony as her kingdom began to fall apart felt like vibrations along Felicity’s rigid spine. “Felicity I have a question for you,” he started in an attempt to bring her focus back to him. Her head was spinning. Robert held Moira’s sobbing frame in his arms as he moved them into a small back corner. Mason hugged Helena to his side as she laid her cheek against his shoulder. Oliver still held her hands tightly within his own and all she could feel was a mixture of anger and dread. He was about to give her everything and all she felt was betrayed. She felt like a pawn in a game filled with thousands of players and only one true Queen.

“Oliver don’t do this…” she pleaded, “don’t do this here, let us have one moment that’s just between us, you and I please…”

His head bowed until their foreheads touched. “Push the sounds aside and focus on the tenor of my voice and the feeling of my skin as it brushes over yours.”

She trembled, “Oliver please…” her pleas went unheard.

“Breathe,” he repeated, “just breathe for me okay?”

She nodded as the skin of her brow brushed over his own. “I feel like a pawn in some strange power play,” she finally admitted.

His breathes came out in harsh, small, pants. “Marry me…”

Felicity’s heart plummeted to the floor. He again repeated, “Marry me…”

Her pulse race and her throat thickened with unspoken words. “No…” she mumbled almost silently until he urged her to speak up. She pulled down on their joined hands and took a steadying breath. “No…” she repeated louder this time with an undercurrent of regret. “No I won’t marry you…” she finally fully answered as she dropped his hands and fled quickly from the scene with Oliver following closely at her heels.

* * *

 

Current time…

She felt the softness of her pillow beneath her head along with the loose spring at the middle of her mattress as it dug along the middle of her back. “Oh god,” she croaked with a dry throat. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck,” she complained to what she thought was an empty room. Sadly she had no such luck.

“Nope only an emotional one I’m afraid,” Oliver countered before sliding a cold compress over her forehead.

She grasped at his hand before he had the chance to shirk away. “I only said no because I felt ignored when I told you I felt like a chess piece,” she began before she felt the pad of his thumb swiping slowly over her bottom lip silencing her next words.

“I screwed up,” he admitted. “I didn’t put you first, I put the game ahead of our real relationship and it was wrong.”

She pressed her puckered lips together softly kissing the pad of this thumb. “Did I faint?”

He smiled softly and answered in faux seriousness, “Yeah and I was very concerned…”

She lifted her a hand a swatted at his forearm, “ I was emotionally overwrought you arrogant ass!”

He stifled a slightly smaller laugh, “But really are you sure you’re okay?”

She grinned happily, “Yeah I’m good I just well lost it and yeah the floor came rushing forward.”

He removed the damp cloth and squeezed the remaining droplet’s of water from the drying cloth. He then placed it back into the ice water before squeezing it quickly and moving to place it back over her forehead. “Ask me again?”

Oliver placed the cloth over her already damp forehead with a wrinkled brow, “Why? The first time it didn’t end so well.”

She swatted at him again, “I asked you to do it in private, you ignored me so this time don’t and ask me again properly,” she ordered while he trailed his fingers up and down the length of her bare arm.

“Do you want me on bended knee?” he asked casually with a slight head tilt.

She again pursed her lips and wrinkled her forehead beneath the damp towel. “Well…” she began while pretending to mull over her options. He watched her carefully looking for a silent cue as to what she really wanted from him so she caved and asked for it.

“You realize that even though I’m plain, and ordinary with no means to ever be financially wealthy I’m still a living, breathing woman who feels just as deeply and profoundly as you do right?”

Oliver didn’t even hesitate before saying, “Yes.”

“Good,” she breathed. “Then why would you think that you could just say Marry me without really telling me why? What about me won you over? Was it my inscrutable heart, or even my fiery temper? What about me made you fall for me so quickly? What about me makes you want to marry me?” She rattled off each question quickly and without pause while Oliver gently played with the edge of the damp cloth over her forehead.

“Have you ever met someone who challenges everything that you thought to be true?”

She blinked at his question but remained silent hoping he’d explain without her needing to give him yet another verbal push. Instead she lifted her hand over her stomach and didn’t stop until she could feel the warmth of his fingers as he trailed them along her inner palm. “You woke me up in a way that made everything else fall away,” he uttered with no preamble or hesitation in sight. She shifted causing a stray droplet of water from the towel to run awkwardly down the side of her face. He moved his trembling fingers away from the cloths edge and traced along the waters path picking up the small watery path with the roughness of his finger pads. “I met my equal in you Felicity. You’ve been there to challenge me at every turn. You called me arrogant when most would have simply stopped trying; you saw through the mask and pushed it away so my true face could be seen.” Her body craved his last words but also feared the next step. She kept herself still and silent as his fingers played along the contours of her face and inner palm. His curved neck made his chiseled jaw seem even more prominent as he used the same warm gaze that made her heart skip a beat to keep her fully vested in the conversation. “I fell in love because you saw through all the boisterous talk. You saw past my many defenses and still wanted me like I did you, Felicity it was that sure tongue and strong heart that made falling for you as simple as taking a deep breath. I love you Felicity and yes I want to marry you the real question is do you want the same?”

She couldn’t help but smile as she closed her fingers around hand and squeezed tightly. His eyes blazed with a hunger she never dreamed would exist when someone was looking at her. His touch remained over her cheek bone while they kept their eyes locked on the other. “See was that so hard?” she teased him gently; making him smile broadly as he leaned forward to kiss her nose.

“So Ms. Smoak yes or no?” he whispered as he dragged his lips over her own smiling ones. Her lower stomach burned with desire as her lungs grabbled for more air. It took her ten seconds to respond once her lungs were full once more.

“Yes…” she first answered meekly since he’d kept his lips close enough to feel her words as she spoke. She heard the hitch at the back of this throat just before his lips moved over her own. His touch was warm but also timid as his warm breath mixed with her small exhales of pure elation.

“Say it again,” he gently urged as his once trailing touch turned to a sure palm resting snugly at her warmed cheek. She felt his thumb brushing below over her upper cheek bone. His touch made her sigh in sheer contentment as she again gave him a muffled response.

“Yes,” she repeated. “Yes I’ll marry you,” she added just before their smiles became lost within the melding of two lovers lips.

* * *

 

Just beyond the scene within the small cramped room laid another scene just waiting to completely unfold. Moira slipped past the sounds of hushed giggles and muffled pronouncements of love. She felt disgust with her actions but saw no other way to preserve her crumbling dynasty. With trepidation she moved towards the hidden door along the back wall of the upper floors. She reached inside her dress jacket’s pocket and swiftly removed the old skeleton key. “You’ve left me no other choice Oliver, you’ve given me no other options,” she again repeated more to comfort herself as she slipped the key into the rarely used lock and turned until she heard the deafening click.

The door popped open with a heavy thud and a blast of dust filled air. She coughed raggedly attempting to release the thick air from her now clouded lungs. “I need your help sweetheart, “ she called up the narrow stairway not daring to step much past the threshold of the forgotten level of the aging home. “Your Oliver needs your help,” she added as the hollow pang of regret began to grow within her narrow chest.

She head a small scratching sound along the upper staircase before the once shadow less landing became filled with a nearly hollow but still fairly solid form. Her heart slammed roughly at her aging bones as the faceless body laughed coldly, “My Oliver…always needs me…”

What came next would fracture many but the person it would hurt the most wasn’t Oliver or even Felicity, what Moira now feared more than anything was the person she’d ultimately destroy would be the fractured delusional woman before her.

“Hello Laurel,” she gently cooed. “It’s time for you to come out of hiding.”

With that a verbal deal was struck and many fates were ultimately sealed.


	11. Part 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Part 11**

 

 

Watching someone sleep is about tranquility and peace; not for the person who sleeps but for the one who watches. Oliver hadn’t known peace since before his best friend and half brother died. Oliver hadn’t known what it felt like to hold someone’s heart in your hands; only to realize that your own was clutched tightly within theirs. Felicity sighed softly; the movement of the air around her lips caused a few stray pieces to sway gently at her jaw bone. Something dark and unexpected coiled through his veins; something that left his hands shaking with unspoken dread. 

He moved towards the unmade bed’s side as her hand slightly dipped off the edge and out towards him like a silent offer of need. He couldn’t help but smile to himself when her small, dexterous fingers extended out, he hoped in search of his tender touch. His toes ached while they supported his weight, his knees cracked as he took slow, calculated movements downwards until his lips were level with the tips of her fingers. He watched her chest rise slowly while her lids fluttered as her mind allowed her to dream of anything but the reality she resided in. He resisted the urge to run his own fingertips up the length of her bare skin. He fought with his own twisted yearnings as his eyes raked over every perfect inch of her slender, yet still perfect form. 

“This is freaking crazy...” he gently breathed against her skin as placed a featherlike kiss to each extended tip. Her eyes remained tightly shut as he rocked forwards and backwards. His knees kept hitting the edge of the mattress with each small pass until he finally had to grip its edge to stop himself from disrupting her slumber. Her lips curved into a ghostlike smile. He couldn’t help the head cock of amusement nor the glint of humor in his eyes when she whispered incoherently, “Mmmmmm feels nice” 

She scrunched her nose seconds later muttering, “Tickles” before the smile faded and dream shifted. Her brow now seemed wrinkled with troubled thoughts. Her mutterings were now harsher and filled with pain. Oliver frowned. “Come back to me baby, find me baby, leave wherever you are and find me,” he whispered lowly against her finger pads. 

Her neck arched. Her legs kicked off the low lying comforter revealing the once unwrinkled dress in its very rumpled state. He moaned, “I need Lyla” as she drew her knees towards her chest and mumbled contently, “Found you” Moments later her knees began to descend as her wrinkled brow once more became ageless and smooth. 

Not wanting to leave her sleeping in the antique dress a moment longer than he had to he used the edge of the mattress to steady his slow ascent until he felt the blood rushing to his lower limbs. He eased out a pleasurable sigh as his toes tingled. Before straightening his back completely he took another spare moment to gaze over the many fine lines and angled contours of the face that before tonight had haunted his own dreams. Her hairline peaked downward at the center of her forehead. Small whips of nut brown made the otherwise brightness of her blonde strands seem textured and full. Her lipstick was smeared from the numerous kisses he’d stolen throughout the night. The bright shade of pink matched her skin tone as he bent down to press a chaste kiss to her upper cheek. She released a light moan. His lips curved over her smooth, crème colored skin. Her soft lashes fell over the circles just beneath her eyes fluttering slightly just as he whispered over her skin, “I love you.” 

Moments later he pulled back and began to retreat backwards taking slow, measured steps. He kept her in his sights until he felt the door’s knob stabbing him sharply in the lower back. He reached behind him and grasped at the offending handle. She kept breathing evenly with that small smile spreading once again over her perfect face. He pressed down on the handle and counted to ten. Once there he took a breath and gently eased the door forward wincing each time the hinges creaked. He kept a weary eye on her with each squeal that seemed to thunder through the suddenly cavernous room. She never moved. She remained still as a board as he slowly let the handle fly upward while moving backwards past the open door. 

“She sleeps soundly now, not like before when every small sound made her jump out of her skin.” 

Oliver’s heart nearly thundered through his ribcage until he was sure a small corner of the pulsating muscle was peering out past his rigid sternum. Lyla’s soft amusement was evident when she added, “She fell asleep in that god-awful thing?” 

His forehead fell with a thud upon her closed bedroom door. He took another sharp breath before slightly wheezing, “I almost thought she’d escaped that damn room again.’ 

He didn’t have to see her face to feel the disapproval that was etched deeply within the long lines of her narrowed eyes. “Well the last time she almost burned you alive or was that before she was found attempting to jam her bloodily fingers into Felicity’s lock?” 

Groaning he gave her the standard, practiced reply. “Lyla I can’t change the past but with Felicity I might have a shot at a real future. Don’t blow it for me by forcing my hand.” 

Regretful words often were Oliver’s specialty. Now was just an example of that rare talent. “I’m not forcing your hand but I’m certain after tonight’s display Moira will.” 

Oliver resisted the urge to slam his open palm against his sleeping lover’s door. “By the time she gets her to the point of a functioning human being it will be too late,” he growled darkly. The air around them tingled as she crossed her arms and stared dangerously at the muscles of his well defined back. 

“The papers you requested are ready. I’m having Gracie take them before her tomorrow morning.” 

Oliver’s palm twitched over the wooden door. “That won’t end well,” he seethed knowingly then declared with less anger and more anguish, “I can’t lose her Lyla...” 

He could feel her shoulders drooping as her eyes fell and her chest deflated with a sad, resigned sigh. “Then tell her the truth before your wedding day comes and Moria destroys your both.”

“She’ll leave me Lyla, she has principals unlike us, she won’t let her emotions rule her she’ll use her head and not her heart.” The defeat in his tone must have softened the older woman’s temper since she placed a timid but supportive hand over his extended shoulder. 

“If Gracie can get her to sign the papers the marriage will be annulled. Your sham marriage can finally be over and we both can move on with our lives,” she offered in comfort. 

Oliver pressed his forehead even further against the door. Both palms were pressed securely over the door by his sweating temples. His sighs of defeat would have broken even the coldest heart. “What if she won’t?” 

“Then you’ll lose the love or your life,” she answered with no remorse in sight.

* * *

 

 Something soft tickled at the tip of her angled chin. Felicity felt herself smiling with tired satisfaction, “Am I to expect this sort of greeting every morning or just when you’re in trouble?” 

“I’m being all cute and contrite and yet I’m still in trouble?” Thea’s gentle mocking tone made Felicity roll her eyes. 

“He had his tongue down your throat and you had your nimble little fingers on his belt Thea,” she scolded quietly while returning her soon to be sister’s embrace. Thea snuggled closer until Felicity could feel her soft breathes over her upper arm. “Come on my little elf why are you really in here before the sun has even greeted the sky at its highest point in the sky?” 

Thea chuckled at the nickname Felicity had given her after her second day at Thornfield and sighed, “Did you really agree to marry Oliver?” 

“Hmmmm, so that’s why your head is over my chest,” Felicity concluded while Thea shifted over her collarbone and mumbled, “He won’t send me away will he?” 

Felicity raised her hands slowly in gentle rubbing motions over her flannel shirt attempting to ease her fears. “Thea no one’s going to separate us okay? We’re a family you and I and Oliver.” 

She felt her cheek rubbing softly over the worn fabric of her shirt in slow nods of understanding. “You’re not letting me get away with the whole garden and the boy escapade are you?” 

Felicity chuckled at her Oliver worthy dodging ability and replied, “Six weeks and Thea?” 

“Yeah?” she mumbled in acceptance of her six week prison sentence. 

“I love you too.” 

She felt her smile as her embrace grew harder and the silence that engulfed them grew suddenly comfortable. Felicity knew the stillness of the moment would fade with time but, for now she let her eyes remain closed and her heart open as the morning slowly puttered on. 

* * *

 

Thea had decided to disentangle herself after thirty minutes of idle chatter leaving Felicity to lie there in comfortable silence. She listened with a careful ear to the mindless sounds of the old, drafty house. She could hear the small droplets of rain falling down over the worn gutters and down the drainage pipe located directly beside her bedroom window. She inhaled deeply letting the smell of the morning dew fill her completely until her lungs burned. Her exhale was soft, deep and purposeful; each breath she took while listening to the floorboards above and around her creak was meant to make her one with the home. 

It amused her to count the different sounds. One crack was made when she suspected Lee had tripped over a fraying floor board. Another was a high pitched squeak of the upper levels bathroom door. She noted absently that the hinges needed to be replaced. Her fingers were halfway to the note pad beside her desk when she heard a small knock at her bedroom door. The warmth around her body seemed to vanish when the knock’s owner asked, “Felicity are you presentable?” 

Felicity glanced down at her ratty old tee shirt and scowled, “Not really but I sense that won’t deter you.” 

As she suspected the knob was turning before her “you” was fully past her frowning mouth. “Moira” Felicity greeted sternly while grabbing the blankets up in her small hands and pushing them haphazardly up towards her neck. With her upper half fully concealed she gave the older woman a sharp smile, “So what do I owe this extreme displeasure to?” 

Moira didn’t miss a single, solitary beat. “You’re smart. That should make these next few days much more stimulating,” she breathed in the tone of a slithering snake. 

Felicity watched her lithe body move with poised purpose around the small space of the cramped room. Felicity trudged the comforter further until the soft fabric connected to the point of her chin. Moira wore a crème colored pant suit with matching pumps and a snow white blouse beneath the wrinkle free jacket. The lines of her clothing were crisp and clean just like the woman who wore them. Her makeup was flawless with the curls of her silky, dark blonde hair falling gently at her shoulders. Moira shifted. Felicity’s chest stilled as she pulled at her bottom lip. The older woman’s ice cold stare remained fixated on the landscape beyond the dew covered window panes as her arms crossed over her stomach. “Helena was such a simple choice. Marry her and he’d inherit millions...” she started with a faraway tone. Felicity felt the space around her beginning to freeze as the ice in Moira’s veins began to expand past her rigid form. 

“I didn’t mean to...” 

“No you didn’t mean to do anything, my son did. He meant to gave up his birthright because my husband was dumb enough to have another, older son. I thought I’d taken care of that issue but sadly it seems I didn’t do so properly...” 

Felicity nearly did a double take before gulping and asking, “Are you trying to tell me something or are you just blustering about your past failures?” 

Moira’s neck cracked as she shifted her remarkably calm gaze. “If I didn’t have to hate you I’d like you Ms. Smoak, hell I’d even encourage this union but unfortunately fate has once more played its hand.” 

Felicity gulped, “Are you drunk or just being strange to throw me off?” 

Moira must have taken in the knitted brows and the pulled up comforter. Her smile was like that of icy breeze during a frigid winter’s day. “Can I be frank Ms. Smoak?” she asked already intending to do so regardless of the answer. 

“I’d be thrilled Moira,” Felicity replied more confused than ever. 

Her sneering smile changed as her lips fell into a knowing but still contrite grimace. “He’s kept secrets from you and yet you’re still consenting to becoming his bride.” 

Felicity nodded slowly, “Yes...why?’ 

Moira eyed her carefully with an appraising head tilt. Her next words were chosen with a sense of urgency as she causally leaned into the aging window frame. “If you knew his lie would it change what’s to come?” 

Felicity’s blinking must have been amusing since Moira actually cracked a tepid smile. “Honesty my dear, it’s always been the best policy or so I’ve been told,” she offered in a kinder but still edged tone. 

“Cut to the chase, are you going to spill the beans or just murder me here in my bed? Felicity blurted out hoping to be at the very least an amusing prey. 

“I knew I’d like you...” she gently whispered before raising her voice and giving again a very closely guarded reply. “No my dear I’m not but I do wonder about your character so let me ask you this if I may?” 

Felicity huffed, “Cut the double speak. Just ask your question and put us both out of our combined misery.” 

Moira gave her a curt head tilt and even a small wink. “Would you ever condone to being a mistress?” 

She’d said it so directly that Felicity could barely believe it when she mumbled out, “No, I’m worth more than that.” 

Moira must have been pleased with the answer since she uncrossed her arms and tapped lightly at the iron bed railing. “Remember this conversation Felicity, and please don’t go back on your words...” she warned with a genuine smile. 

Felicity’s mouth fell open with a string of protests but all that came out was hot air. Her visitor left her sitting there with shock in her heart and a comforter defending her ratty attire. “I’m screwed,” she muttered plainly before glancing at the bedside cloak and shrieking, “Shit! The dress fitting!” With that the comforter fell and her legs scrambled to move her through a very rushed morning routine. 

* * *

 

Felicity wondered down the halls with a cheery disposition and even yes a warm glow in search of her grumbling fiancé. She smiled inwardly. Fiancé. The word made her heart beat faster each time she merely thought of its blissful occupant. 

“No, no I need the hall tonight.” Felicity’s steps halted. She could see the outline of his trim shape from beyond the partially closed library door. Felicity ducked behind her “favorite” curtain and continued to eavesdrop on the rather elevated conversation. 

“No I was planning on four weeks from now but a few things fell into place a bit sooner than I’d expected and I need the date moved up.” He sounded confident, and sure in his choice even though he’d never discussed one single word of it with her. She wanted to whip the curtain back and storm into the room but, stopped when his conversation continued. 

“I don’t want to wait, I’ve waited long enough for this woman and I won’t waste another second spending my life without her.” Felicity’s clasped hands fell open as she lifted them towards her parted mouth. She felt the softness of her warm lips as they pressed gently into the curve of her palm. “Oh baby,” she whispered to the darkness around her as she let her hands fall from her smiling mouth towards the curtains edge. She was just about to push the fabric back when his voice dropped. 

“No that won’t be an issue.” Felicity clutched at the red material and again for the second time that day began to bite at her lower lip. He continued with a dull tenor that up until she’d never once heard him use. “I’ll take care of it John, No! I pay you to do your job so let me worry about the legal issues alright!” 

Felicity was stunned. He’d yelled before and really what person hasn’t but it was what he said and not how he’d said it that left her shocked. Their conversation continued uninterrupted as she slowly backed herself down the length of the hall and towards the large open doors. A shiver began to creep through her like a small shard of ice had embedded itself in her heart. The cold was beginning to spread outward from the once warm muscle as she ran quickly up the back stairs and towards her bedroom. 

* * *

 

After overhearing the earlier conversation it was Lee and not Oliver who’d announced that her first dress fitting was also going to be her only dress fitting. Felicity hadn’t been in her room for more than ten minutes when she’d heard the light rap on her door. She sighed at her reflection for about the tenth time in the past hour as she pulled at the bodice of a dress that must have been made with actual whale bone for the corset’s spine. With a sharp tone of determination she once more began her pep talk to the large, oval glass surface.

“Oliver we need to talk... No... that’s too formal. Umm hey honey can we rap for a sec? No that’s too Thea...ugh why can’t I do this!” she ranted to her angry reflection. 

“Okay...” she breathed as she straightened her shoulders and placed her hands firmly at her corseted sides. Her hair was still flowing freely over her shoulders, her makeup was undone and her dress was still resting limply over her firm shoulders. She huffed once more and shook her head, “Okay Felicity, you can do this....just take a deep breath and take the plunge...” she ranted at the disshelved reflection that seemed to be mocking her current emotional state. “He’s coming to you stupid, you have no one to give you away....” she kept muttering to the glass. 

She glared. “Oliver what are you hiding from me? Why would legal action be needed? Why was your mother in my room this morning trying to determine my moral character?” She spit it all out. She released all her internal questions to the reflection in the mirror only to realize that unless he’d been standing there the questions were utterly pointless. “God I’m a fool,” she admitted with a dwindling sense of self just as yet again she was interrupted by a firm knock upon her door. 

Still glaring she called out, “The zipper’s stuck, my veil is on the bed and no my hair and makeup aren’t done.” 

“That’s quite a list Felicity,” a distinctly female voice replied leaving Felicity both surprised and slightly relieved. “Lyla?” she called out as she rounded the corner and reached for the door. 

She flung the door open to see Lyla holding an arrangement of simple white roses tied with what appeared to be yards of lace. Her small smile grew into one of complete laughter as she carefully appraised her state of disarray. “Oliver will be here in few minutes but,” 

“But you wanted to finish our conversation from before Mason was found shot?” Felicity guessed as Lyla slowly nodded. 

“I heard your umm conversation...” she explained. 

Felicity’s cheeks flushed bright red. “Yeah ummm I can so explain that, I was...” 

“You were practicing in preparation for Oliver,” she stated, finishing the statement while gently placing the flowers in her open hands. “I remember meeting you on that horrible stormy day,” Lyla began with a sadness building behind her voice. “You were dripping from head to toe with that horrible tweed jacket and those off colored shoes.” 

Felicity groaned, “You had to remember that didn’t you...” 

Lyla laughed to fight back the growing tears at the back of her clogged throat. She coughed softly, “You’re a gift Felicity Smoak.” 

Felicity’s eyes softened, “Lyla...” 

The pressure on her hands that were now wrapped around a simple bouquet intensified as Lyla took a shaky breath. “No let me to do this before I lose my nerve.” 

Felicity fell silent suddenly not wanting the answers to the secrets Lyla had sworn to keep. Her pulse raced as did Lyla’s. Both knew everything was about to change and both feared the end result. Lyla gave her a watery smile and glanced over her shorter frame towards the antique veil lying there innocently on the bed. “That veil was his grandmothers just like this dress and the one from last night.” she began as a confused Felicity listened on. “I’ve known Oliver since he was a teenager all long limbs and raging hormones.” Her voice stilled and shifted from remembrance to sadness. “He’d never known what love was until you...He’d thought he could do as she asked, but in the end his heart was pure.” 

Felicity gripped at the wilting stems, “Lyla please...what’s he hiding from me?” 

Her tears spilled over her trembling lids and down in small rivers over her pale cheeks. “He never knew he could do this...he never knew he could love and then you show up all tongue tied and innocent with that pesky way of seeing straight to his soul...” 

“Lyla,” Felicity interrupted once more. “Please, what’s the big dark secret?” 

Lyla’s large eyes grew wide not with sadness or relief but with fear. Felicity pulled at their joined hands over the ribbon of lace. “Lyla? Hey are you okay?” 

All she managed to mutter with a fixed stare was an almost deadly, “Laurel...” 

* * *

 

Felicity felt the chill growing stronger. Lyla’s hands shook around her own. She swallowed thickly as she pulled her closer. “Don’t turn around, don’t make any sudden movements and don’t say a single word,” she whispered without taking her eyes off of whatever disturbance had caused her sudden change in demeanor. Felicity didn’t nod she just let Lyla move her towards her heaving chest. Her spine tingled when at last the disturbance spoke. “Hello Lyla...I’ve been so lonely up in that drafty old tower...” 

The voice made her skin begin to crawl. Lyla shivered involuntarily then replied, “Where’s Gracie?” 

Felicity’s eye’s grew wide. “Gracie?” 

Lyla clamped down on her hands and asked again, “Laurel sweetheart where is she?” 

Felicity searched the room for any mirrored surface and found none. Her mind was racing. Who was Laurel? How was Gracie still employed after shooting Mason? All these questions screamed within her skull while the crazed voice behind her tiptoed closer. “She’s fine...well mostly...” she crudely laughed as the floorboards beneath her she suspected bare feet squeaked. “She came to see me just like Moira did...” she laughed happily. 

Felicity resisted the urge to turn around and face her but sadly her vocal cords didn’t have the same restraint. “Why did Moira visit you?” 

Lyla could have broken her wrist she gripped so hard. “Felicity,” she hissed. “You have no idea what Laurel’s capable of.” 

Felicity let her words seep through her and an unpleasant thought began to fester in her tightly coiled heart. “The fire...” she breathed as the woman behind her began to loudly clap. 

“I like the colors...” she explained. “I told Moira when she came to see me...she said it was okay...that Ollie still loved me...” she stated in a sing song voice. 

“What’s going on Lyla?” Felicity hissed when Laurel stated, “Mother said he needs me...” 

“Mother?” Felicity repeated just as Moira’s question snapped fully into place. “Lyla no....” she began to whisper. “He wouldn’t not about this...” she rambled, “Not to me...” she ranted. “Never to me...” 

“Ollie lies, he always has,” she sang as the floors once again creaked. 

“Laurel sweetheart what did Moira want you to do?” Lyla asked to refocus her. Felicity let her since her heart had begun to slowly fracture and break all around her. 

“Said Ollie needs me, said he’s gone astray...” she giggled with each wretched step. “I just had to pop up and poof Ollie was saved...” she mumbled. “But...then Gracie showed up and I was sad...Ollie wants me gone, he’s done with me, and that cannot be...” she rattled on as Lyla began to move backward. 

“Sweetie did you sign the paper?” 

Felicity frowned at the question but kept quiet as they crossed the door’s threshold. Her dress’s train snagged on an exposed nail tearing the fabric and making the woman behind her scream. “Nooooooo!!!!!” They froze and her wailing stopped. “Rips.” she again went back to mumbling. “I don’t like them,” she sighed.

Lyla’s soothing tone began to wrap around them once more. “Laurel did you sign the paper?” 

Her voice suddenly sounded clear as glass. “Yes...” 

Lyla breathed in relief but pushed for more. “Why?” 

Felicity longed to turn around but hesitated when she heard the sorrow in the other woman’s pain laden voice. “Because it wasn’t fair, what we did to him, what they made him do...He honored me until he couldn’t, he kept his word and me safe. Moira was right he needed me I just chose how...” 

Lyla’s eyes furrowed, “My God she’s lucid,” 

Felicity squeaked out, “Can I turn around then?” 

She glanced at her briefly but still shook her head, “No, she’s done this before and the last time it lasted for a few moments before a knife came out of her damn sleeve.” 

“Okay no turning around then,” she agreed as Laurel’s voice began to grow shaky once more. 

“Lyla I don’t have much time, Gracie’s in the tower with a huge welt on her forehead,” Her tone grew more warped with each passing minute. “She’s....oh god she has the paper...” she muttered before a loud scream passed from her Felicity assumed cracked lips. The sound was guttural just like the screams from all those horrible, sleepless nights. 

“My God Lyla that was her!” she whispered as Lyla kept moving them down the empty hall. 

“Yes, yes it was now keep moving,” she replied lowly but strictly. 

“How did she get in?” Felicity thought aloud before answering her own question. “Those tunnels are a real problem you do know that right!” 

“Felicity, not now!” she now scolded as her back became one with the back wall. She saw her forehead winkle as she squinted down the hall. “Okay when I say so you run down those damn stairs. Find Oliver and tell him she’s out. Then stay out of sight until he comes to collect you.” 

Felicity didn’t have enough time to respond before Lyla released her and shouted, “GO!” 

With a push from Lyla she took off like a shot down the narrow staircase as Laurel’s terrified screams filled the otherwise dead air. 


	12. Part 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Part 12**

 

 

Time felt like ice as she took each sorrow filled step. Her mind was filled with nothing but the sounds of Laurel’s high pitched screams. 

Laurel...

Her mind kept running through the story about Gracie being alone, unarmed, and now wounded in some dark, dank dungeon like space. Another step and she’d be to the landing and to him...Her foot froze, upstairs Lyla was tapped with her back literally against a wall while Laurel screamed before her very eyes. Downstairs and just around the corner was Oliver, the person she was in love with and, the husband of the woman who threatened her current happily ever after. 

Lyla ordered her to get Oliver, to get him and then hide just like Laurel had been hidden from her. She was once more going to be the dirty secret, she was once again the other woman and something inside her finally snapped. She grabbed the railing and leaned forward putting all her weight on the lone foot that was still resting firmly on the final step. Swallowing all her destroyed feelings made her shudder but, she knew based on the creaks coming from above Lyla was nearly out of time. With pinched eyes and a sickening knot in the pit of her stomach she screamed, “OLIVER!!!!!!! LAUREL’S OUT!” 

She waited for the sound of screeching voices and loud shouts but instead was met with silence. She was about to try again when something stole her very focused attentions. 

Felicity gulped when the side door right next the landing began to squeak. She glanced up the stairs looking for a sign of human life. She closed her scared eyes and waited for the telltale creaks from the floor above. Again instead of screams or gentle, soothing words she was met with an eerie silence. Opening her eyes she risked a quick glance down the hall. She hoped to see his black dress shoes, or to even hear the hinges of the library door heave as they were opened. Again all that met her trembling body was silence and a still calm. She was just about to risk stepping off the landing when she heard a raspy, if somewhat tortured, “Stupid little girl...” from the other side of the side door, followed by, “Why...why...why...why.” 

Felicity choked back a rattled, ‘Who’s there?” just as the knob began to lightly rattle. She kept a firm hand on the iron railing and very carefully with her back up against the wall began to walk herself back up the aging staircase. The rattling grew louder and was soon followed by a loud pop, before a very dull thud made the side paneling shake. Felicity froze, wondering for a split second if perhaps there was a hidden tunnel just behind the old, warped panels. She glanced up once again towards the landing and whispered, “Lyla?” 

The silence that greeted her made her blood freeze as it pulsated rapidly through her breaking heart. She was halfway up the stairs when the door once again rattled but this time the whispers weren’t veiled threats. “Oh god....” the shaky voice cried. “Oh god what have I done?” it asked making Felicity’s steps venture down the just climbed stairs.  

Her fingers danced as her entire arm shook with unspoken fear. She swallowed then risked asking with a feather light tone, “Laurel?” 

She was met with a gnarled sob, “What have I done? What have I done...” she kept crying as Felicity’s hand neared the faded brass knob. 

Attempting to reign in her shaky feelings of both anger and dread she asked, “Laurel where’s Lyla?” 

The shaky response from inside the hidden tunnel made her fingers knot tightly around the handle. “She’s here...she’s...Oh god what did I just do?” 

“Laurel?” 

“Yes?” she replied in sadly. 

“Are you leaning against the door?” 

Felicity heard the light sounds of small, timid movements as Laurel pushed herself away from the other side of the seemingly locked door. “I didn’t mean to...” she cried out. “I just..” 

“Laurel,” Felicity interrupted. “It’s okay,” she breathed before taking an unsteady gulp of air. “It’s going to be okay but we have to work together now okay? Can you stay with me long enough to do that?” 

Felicity waited on pins and needles remembering how quickly her lucid moment had faded from just mere minutes before. “Laurel? You still with me?” she asked hoarsely as her own emotions began to betray her. 

Another slight shuffle could be heard from the other side of the wall before she heard a light rap at the middle of a slightly caved in panel. “Can you hear that?” the still lucid woman called out as Felicity yanked her hand away from the door and towards the slight dent along the midline of the stairway’s walls. 

“Yes,” she called back. “Why?” 

Again she was met with another moment of horrible, prolonged silence before she heard another very loud and very violent thud. The dent puckered outward as small shards of wooden fibers fell freely from the aged boards. Felicity drew back until her back was against the opposite wall. “Laurel....” she began before another crack could be heard from the other side. “Laurel!” she called out. “Laurel stop! I don’t want you to hurt yourself!” she begged as the other woman continued to throw what Felicity could only assume was the weight of her body against the aging walls. 

With her palms braced along the railings edge she cried just as Laurel threw herself roughly against the slightly crumbled wall, “LAUREL! PLEASE! STOP!” 

She heard nothing after the last blow, no small whelp of pain, or even the small scratch of her fingernails along the rough brick inner wall. Her breathing became heightened as she almost sobbed, “Laurel?” her vision was blurred from the tears that had begun to form along the edges of her eyelids. “Laurel please answer me...” she gently asked with her collected tears brimming over her mascara covered lashes. “Please...” she croaked making one lone tear tip over the small barrier. 

Then just when she’d been about to slide to the floor in a heap of emotional torment she saw what looked like a small pigeon hole of dim light. She sniffed back the remaining tears and released the railing as she carefully inched closer. She had to squint in the dim light of the covered stairwell but to her immense relief she could see a small window had formed between the two unyielding walls. She used her shaky fingers to dig away at the broken and frayed shards of dark paneling until they were met with cold, stale air. Pushing past the old, moldy brick she continued to dig until she had enough space to peer into the hidden world. 

It was what you’d assume of a hidden tunnel. She could make out the low hanging cobwebs that were gathered like moss along every crack and crevice of the aging stone walls. Felicity bit back the bile that was rapidly rising in her throat, “God, Thea was this desperate?” she wondered aloud much to the amusement of one of the tunnels occupants. 

“Imagine living in this kind of filth,” the woman near the back of the shadow laden corner laughed in veiled amusement. 

“Laurel? Is that you?” she asked with a curious tone as she squinted even further to make out the shadowed shape. 

The shape moved along the back wall. Her dingy, dirty blonde hair was covered in the white, sticky webbing. Her forehead looked dirt laden as well with small scratches marring the otherwise pore less surface. “It’s not his fault you know...” the shrouded woman stated. “We hid this from him, they hid everything from him...” she laughed bitterly as she stepped into the low light of the tunnel. 

Felicity risked her safety and sanity by pushing two fingers through the hole as she pulled back her face. “Can you see my fingers?” she asked lamely not sure of how to ask the questions she really wanted answered. 

“It’s okay Felicity, I’m crazy not blind.” 

Felicity muttered lamely, “Sorry. I don’t have a lot of experience with the clinically insane.

The woman she now knew was Laurel inched closer until she could feel the tender touch of her fingers upon her own. “Take a deep breath okay. As long as you stay calm then so well I.” 

Felicity nodded wordlessly and swallowed back a tight sigh. Laurel’s fingers felt soft and oddly wet. Felicity rubbed her index finger along the pad of her thumb and asked lowly, “Whose blood is on my fingers?” 

The other woman didn’t pull back like she’d expected. Instead she simply closed her fingers over her trembling digits and almost emotionlessly replied, “Mine, but it could also be Lyla’s I’m honestly not sure...” 

Felicity gulped, “That thud, that thud was Lyla’s forehead wasn’t it?” 

“Yes,” the same toneless reply came as her touch upon Felicity’s skin grew harder. Felicity felt the shift in the air but attempted to remain calm. 

“Laurel are you still you?” she asked carefully with fear staking its claim within the depths of her war torn heart. 

Her soft sigh brushed over their joined hands, “Yeah I’m still me, but I don’t know for how long. 

Felicity sighed relieved, “Good, what do I have to do to keep you calm and help Lyla?” 

Felicity was distracted from her reply when a strong, steady hand brushed softly over her bare shoulder. Her head snapped to see a crest fallen Oliver standing beside her with a small silver key waiting in his outstretched hand. He mouthed, “Keep her talking,” 

Felicity frowned with a knitted brow but gave him a simple if not emotionless, “Okay.” 

She felt his hand brushing down the length of her arm with the touch of a hero home from war. She felt every aspect of his skin as he took his time running down the line of her arm. His finger tips were at the point of her elbow and about to part with her skin when she hissed, “Wait...” 

He paused with bloodshot eyes and a sad smile. “Why?” 

Felicity bit at her lower lip as Laurel asked softly, “Is he here?” 

Felicity choked out a gnarled, “Yes, Laurel. Yes he is,” and then mouthed to him, “Because I need to feel you.” 

He kept his touch lightly at her elbow as she reached out to grab the lapels of his jacket. He stepped up and forward until their foreheads met. She breathed in his unique scent of fresh linen and aged wood. “Laurel why isn’t Oliver to blame?” she asked somberly as her hand fell from his jacket lapel and down to his chest. “How could I ever forgive him for this?” she choked out as she gently pushed him away. “How could you?” she asked with tears shining in her red rimmed eyes. 

Oliver’s head fell. His shoulders rattled with a tight, soundless sob as he once again walked down the stairs and towards the locked door. Just as Oliver inserted the key Laurel finally replied. 

“Get me a proper bath and a change of clothes and I’ll tell you what he’s simply too scared and ashamed to admit.” 

* * *

 

Minutes after Laurel’s request had been heard Oliver’s body became rigid as poured concrete. Felicity had given him the glare that usually only years of committed marriage could possibly create; in their case it had only taken weeks. “Don’t you dare...” she answered him before his words had even left his open mouth. 

He pursed his lips together tightly but managed to bite out a very angry, “You’re not going with her alone.” 

Felicity didn’t want to agree given how much help he’d provided during this encounter but, feeling his mere presence did put her instantly at ease. “Fine but Oliver?” she stated giving him an answer while combining it with another question. 

“Yes Felicity?” he said with sadness layering every simple syllable. 

Hearing his heartache made her own heart tighten and twist until she thought the muscle would burst from the mere emotional pressure. Carefully she reached for him with an undercurrent of betrayal hidden in her sad eyes. He grasped her waiting palm as she knew he would. Her breath caught in her chest when his thumb pad swept gently over now bruised knuckles. “Remind me to have Lee look at your hands when this all over,” he commented as she winced upon even the slightest touch. 

“I’d appreciate that,” she openly admitted. 

“I’m glad,” he agreed with hesitancy engulfing his very presence. 

She pulled at their still lightly joined hands, “Oliver you lied to me, you betrayed my trust and you broke our bond.” 

He nodded in grief, “I was scared...” he confessed. 

“I know,” she admitted. “You just told me too many days too late and...” she choked back a small cry then hit him even harder with her emotionally charged confession. “You didn’t even tell me. Lyla did.” With that she dropped his trembling hand and squeezed on the hand that Laurel was still clutching through the hole in the wall. “Hang on Laurel Oliver’s going to get you both out of that rat infested tunnel okay?” 

Laurel’s only response was to squeeze back and utter, “He’s not to blame Felicity, not really.” 

She didn’t bother to respond she just squeezed back and waited on pins and needles for the weight in her heart to grow by miles. 

* * *

 

She glanced at her disgusting reflection and only grew more disgusted not with her face but the actions she knew were hidden in the depths of those brown eyes. Oliver had taken great care when prying her dirt and blood caked hands from Felicity’s pristine skin. She wouldn’t remember it soon but when his skin touched hers a small part of her soul felt like it had died all over again. He no longer felt as he had when they were first married. Then he was warm, he was caring and he was kind. Now his touch was tinged with bitterness and resentment that she all but deserved for all the hell her family had forced upon him. 

Once he’d made sure that her filth wasn’t anywhere near the woman he truly cared for his attention shifted to the woman on the hard, unforgiving ground. Laurel swallowed the bile upon remembering the horrible event. After Felicity had fled down the stairs her short cord of sanity simply snapped. The quick movements of someone in a wedding dress made the many voices in her head scream out in an agonizing symphony of torment. “He’s fallen in love,” they’d chant. “He’s going to be with her, sleeping with her, kissing her, loving her while you rot away in this dark, dingy cell.” She slammed her hands on the porcelain counter tops as her eyes slammed shut. 

The visions of those next few minutes still were swimming through her mind like a school of fish traveling upstream. Felicity had run and all she could see was her objective getting away. She charged after her violently screaming as she ran. Lyla tried to subdue her at the foot of the stairs but stopped when Laurel spotted something shinny just before the door to Oliver’s room. Sensing Lyla would surely stop her at the stairs she darted to the hidden door and laughed hauntingly, “Her life ends today...” 

She ran full speed down the rickety stairs until her dirt covered feet hit the solid mud and decay of the ground floor. Once there all she could remember doing was reaching for the damn door. Next thing she knew the voices had stopped and Lyla was lying there with a gaping head wound at the base of where the wall and the floor met. A light knock at the door broke her rambling thoughts and made her focus on her present. She starred once more at the lost woman in the mirror while calling out, “Do you ever feel lost Miss. Smoak?” 

She couldn’t help the smile that graced her lifeless face when she heard her lightly reply, “Yes. Constantly of late.” 

Enjoying the light interlude and pleasant words she called back to the closed door, “I could use some help Felicity.” 

Seconds later she heard the tell tale sound of the door opening but she wasn’t met with just one friendly face, she was met with an equally unfriendly one. Turning to greet both her savior and the intruder she couldn’t help but frown as she let a raw, “Hello Moira.” 

The older woman stood there like a statue formed from ice. Her cold eyes brightened only momentarily before darkening in shame once more. “Laurel...” she greeted before turning to Felicity and mumbling a discreet, “Keep your promise you worthless girl.” 

Laurel’s senses from her years spent hiding alone in the bowels of this house had granted her with a super power of sorts. She heard the hissing undertones and barked out a sharp, “If you call her worthless one more time I’ll make sure my next bought of lunacy is taken out on your worthless hide.” 

Felicity’s mouth fell slightly in shock but Moira’s spine straightened. “You took the deal Laurel, I’m not the only bitch in this room my dear,” she slithered with her own forked tongue. 

“Yeah but I’m crazy, what’s your excuse?” 

Moira scowled before yelling for Lee and storming out towards the servant’s quarters. Felicity watched her go in quiet amusement before turning back and asking, “Was that really the best idea?” 

Laurel nodded and pointed to the tub of warm water. “Yes and this is an odd request but...” 

Felicity clocked the path her eyes had taken and moved forward gracefully in a pair of jeans and a faded plaid shirt, “You had time to change I see?” Laurel commented which made Felicity slightly blush.

“Yeah I didn’t think we wanted a repeat performance so…” she explained quickly while sliding a stand of hair behind her ear.

Laurel laughed quietly in agreement. “I can see why he loves you,” she added making the slight blush grow that much deeper.

Evading the question she asked, “Need help with your hair?” 

Laurel picked at the random pieces of web and dirt before answering gratefully, “Yes.” 

Felicity took her hands and carefully moved her forward. Laurel watched her eyes. They shifted from fear, to sadness, and back to fear again as she helped her slip off the borrowed white robe. She then averted her eyes while keeping her steady like a mother would as she helped her child into the bathtub. She only let go when her own skin hit the scalding water. “Geez are they trying to boil you alive?” she exclaimed before turning bright red and clamping her lips shut. 

Laurel couldn’t help but be amused. “Again I can see why he’s drawn to you. Ollie always did like people with a sense of humor.” 

Felicity wiped her wet hands over her dry jeans before taking a seat on the chair that Lee had brought in just after she’d dragged Laurel into the room. She gave her a weary smile, “Yeah,” she breathed. “I’m sure that’s why he’s so attracted to me.” 

Laurel let her body sink down beneath the water line until all anyone could see of her was her dingy, dirt covered face. “He’s never been in love before Felicity not really anyways,” she stated calmly while the other woman played with a frayed string at the hemline of her shirt. 

“Why do you and Thea call him Ollie?” 

Her question wasn’t surprising it was expected. So she answered wanting to ease the mind of a woman who’s heart was already broken beyond repair. “It’s a nickname. Tommy used to call him that and I guess it sort of stuck.” 

“Makes sense,” came the timid reply. 

Laurel moved her hands over and then through her broken, damaged hair sighing, “Felicity he didn’t know about my illness no one did.” 

The younger woman slumped in the chair and called out the open door, “Okay she’s confirmed you didn’t know.” 

“Good,” came the short, gruff reply. Laurel peered up over the lip of the tub and caught the edge of his scuffed dress shoes. She kicked at the water with her toes and waited for the small splash to hit the slick tile floors. She giggled a little when she saw the same shoe tap with disapproval. 

Felicity caught the exchange, “Inside joke?” she asked in hopeful curiosity. 

Laurel turned her head and smiled, “Sort of. I was engaged to Tommy did you know that?” 

“No,” she answered then added, “But I’d like to her more if you wouldn’t mind?” 

Laurel adjusted again only to feel the sting of the water as it hit over every small scrape upon her skin and bones form. She winced which made the younger woman fall to her knees in concern. “Hey? Are you okay?” 

Laurel nodded but couldn’t help herself for asking, “You really sure you want to help me wash my hair?” 

“Fingers too cut up?” she guessed while reaching for the half full shampoo bottle. 

Nodding shyly, “Yeah...” while giving her a grateful smile. 

She watched the liquid fall into her small palm. Her fingers ached to be of use but alias the wall had left them torn up and unusable. “Sit up,” she ordered but held up a finger and called out to her waiting bodyguard, “Shut the door Oliver, she doesn’t need to be disgraced anymore than necessary.” 

There was a light shuffle followed by the door sliding shut. Felicity glared when it remained open by a small crack but Laurel didn’t. She knew how quickly she could turn. Felicity then very carefully ran her soap covered fingers through the tangled mass of hair until she was sure each strand was going to be cleaned. “Tell me about Tommy, this might take awhile,” she commented when she ran into a massive knot of cobwebs and grime. 

Laurel let the touch of kindness flow through her as she closed her tired eyes and recalled another person whose touch was meant to soothe instead of anger. “Tommy was so different after he found out about Thea and Oliver. He used to be the life of the party, and the light of my life until Malcolm put a bullet in his chest.” 

Felicity’s hands froze, “That’s what pushed you over the edge wasn’t it?” 

Her question was a good one even if Laurel would do anything to avoid it. “I tried to stop the bleeding but it was no use. Apparently that was when I experienced my first real break with reality.” she recalled coldly. “I was sick as child too. I would set fires just like I do here the only difference was they could hide my illness by sending me to every hospital on the planet. That’s how I met Tommy ironically.” 

Felicity eased her fingers over her scalp freeing her from any remaining tangles while asking, “Was he ummmm...” 

“No sweetie he wasn’t crazy, his mother Rebecca was just very kind. She volunteered at the hospital where I was being treated,” she laughed sweetly. “Anyways I was having a fairly lucid day and during my afternoon walk around the grounds I saw him helping another patient with her tangled kite. He was perfect, all bright eyes and cheeky grin. I remember thinking if I’m ever better that’s the boy I’m going to marry, and I nearly did until....” 

“You saw him die and that’s what triggered the mental break.” she softly concluded as she began to rinse the shampoo from her finally cleaned hair. 

Laurel agreed silently at first but couldn’t help herself when she asked, “Do you really want to hear this from me?” 

Again her fingers froze and she numbly replied, “No... I want it from him.” 

Laurel reached back and grasped at her frozen fingers. “Then ask for it,” she encouraged with a small smile and gentle push. 

They didn’t speak much more after that. Felicity helped her finish bathing and was kind enough to loan her a clean set of clothes that fit well enough for one night. When they opened the door there he was all popped collar and weary eyes. Laurel grazed two fingers over his left brow admitting softly, “Moira came to see me; she’s the one that triggered the break. I never meant to cause you even more pain Ollie.” 

He took her hand gingerly and placed a light kiss to her bruised knuckles. “Lyla and Gracie are both going to be fine.”

She breathed in rapid relief then grabbled with her yet unspoken fear. “Are you having me sent to the hospital this time?” She hated that place. It was cold, unforgiving, and unyielding when the night created shadows of torment along the walls of the while cell like rooms.

He smiled sadly, “No Laurel we’ll figure something out okay?” 

She nodded gratefully before spotting Lyla with a bandage over her purple and blue forehead. Seeing the pain she inflicted she dropped Oliver’s hand and ran to embrace someone who’d yet to abandon her. 

* * *

 

Watching as Laurel left tucked into Lyla’s side made the familiar ache of loss even harder to completely ignore. She spotted Oliver’s hunched over form and sighed. He was handsome, he was smart, and funny, and even mildly intelligent but still he’d done the one thing she couldn’t ignore. 

He lied to her and not about something small like his favorite color or how many girlfriends he had during his teen years. No Oliver hid an entire lifetime of secrets. It was with his living and breathing secret walking around that he was being forced into honesty. 

“Standing over there won’t make this conversation any less painful for me or even you Felicity,” Oliver called out from his guard chair. 

She couldn’t help but smile. The scruff along his jaw was trimmed in preparation for today, and that knowledge made her heart lightly glow. She admitted only to herself of course that her favorite part of kissing him was how those whiskers felt as they lightly brushed over her soft skin. She loved how he’d nuzzle at her neck before gently sucking along the edge of her pulse point. Fact was she loved every aspect of him and that’s what made his charming statement that much harder to swallow. Steeling herself she took a small step forward before stopping. Oliver turned at just that moment smiling at her sadly. “She’s been sick since before I met her.” 

Felicity nodded slowly, “I know.” She hesitated wondering if she really wanted to open up every raw wound in such a short span of time. 

“I know she told you about Tommy and how he really died Felicity.” 

She looked at him in confusion for a split second and then muttered beneath her breath, “Thin walls.” 

“I couldn’t abandon her in some hospital ward with no family, and no access to a simple smile. Tommy wouldn’t want that...” he trailed off slowly when she began to move forward. 

“You know I can’t stay here Oliver,” she started to explain only to have him stand up and start pacing across the width of the room. She watched him quizzically like she would if she was examining a new pupil. She watched how he continued to rake his fingers roughly across his cropped hairs. She observed the way his chest seemed deflated even when he was taking a panicked breath. She could feel his fear in each labored step, she could sense his heartbreak, and she could sense his impending loss. 

She watched him mutter for what felt like long, unending hours while she stood there with her arms crossed protectively over her stomach. Her fingers itched to soothe the worry lines around his narrowing eyes, but she remained still silently commanding herself to stay. He’d glance at her every so often like he was guessing what words would make her suddenly decide to stay. “Oliver you won’t find the right words,” she stated gently. “You won’t find the right mixture of truth and lies to make this easier to swallow. You hid her from me. You hid your wife from me, and somehow thought what you could marry us both?” 

He groaned, “It wasn’t like that....” 

Felicity argued, “Yes it was. She has a mental illness so what to protect yourself you hid her away like a shameful secret?” 

He stopped midstride and pinned her with a deadly glare. “Would you like to know how I found out about her mental illness? Would you like to know that on the day of our wedding she set the church on fire!” 

Felicity took a small step back but kept herself away from any doorways or sturdy walls. She wanted to feel the strength of her own body supporting her instead of a solid wall. “Why did she set the church on fire?” she asked calmly. 

Oliver placed his almost rattling hands along his waist. His dark, stormy eyes made her feel wanton because he held so much desire within them. His anger towards the situation did nothing to dampen his feelings for her and, that left her both winded and utterly confused. He cocked his head seeing her non-verbal ques as they were telegraphed across her tell tale face. “Yes Felicity I still want you,” he stated plainly. 

She bit at her lower lip and gulped, “How do you do that? How do you make my thoughts run wild like that?” 

Shrugging he rounded back to the initial question. “I don’t know but I do know that when Laurel saw herself in that damn gown she had a breakdown. It brought her back to that day when the love of her life was taken away.” 

She couldn’t help herself so she pushed further on both fronts. “Did Malcolm kill him on their wedding day? And, have you thought about us you know being together?” 

He looked at her with an odd mixture of both empathy and love. Her knees began to rattle as his words wrapped around her fragile heart. “Yes and how could you think that I haven’t?” 

She shrugged, “Why does she freak out about tears or rips on dresses or fabrics?” she asked completely avoiding his last statement. 

He smiled briefly but let it slide. “When Tommy fell to the ground the train of her dress ripped on the head of an exposed nail. She literally fell to the ground with him according to Mason.” 

“So, Mason’s involved with this too?” she asked in a small attempt to avoid the growing urge to reach out for his hand. 

Nodding he replied, “Mason’s her brother. He’s the one who told me about her history.” 

“That’s why he’s agreed to help you with Moira I assume?” she slowly interjected as her feet shuffled forward. 

He caught the movement but remained still as he said back to her, “Yes. We made the plan to keep Laurel here under constant supervision but as you can see that plan wasn’t foolproof.” 

She agreed with a timid laugh. “So the fire that night was Laurel correct?” 

He gave her a knowing stare but answered the question anyways. “Yes and no it was Gracie’s idea to take the blame before you think I’m some horrible monster.” 

Felicity wanted to scream at him in outrage but refrained because the thought had crossed her mind. “Good but you did send her with annulment papers...” she stated with an edge of accusation in her voice. 

He held up his hands in surrender conceding the point. “I wanted to marry you and that could only happen once our faux marriage had ended.” 

His words were simple and to the point which she appreciated because for once his wasn’t filling the air and their hearts with more false promises. Yet something in his last phrase caught her attention. “You said faux, so let me ask why did you go through with it?” 

Oliver hung his head breathing out, “Laurel was my lynchpin. I knew that with her as my legal wife the company shares that Tommy had gifted to her on the day of their engagement would be mine.” 

Something finally clicked in Felicity’s mind so she asked her next question before he could tell her anymore. “Those were from Robert and if Moira knew then in order to keep them from going to Thea she made sure they’d go to you? Oliver did she arrange the marriage just to gain the shares in Robert’s company?” 

“Yes,” he replied gravely. “She arranged every meeting we ever had up until I was set to say I do. I never spent more than five minutes alone with her, hell I never heard her speak they all did it for her.” 

Felicity at this point wanted to scratch her head in annoyance as how easily he’d been lied too and then deceived while remembering yet another conversation they’d recently shared. “You knew this was a sham didn’t you?” 

He agreed, “I needed the shares Felicity and she was my only way to gain them.” 

Felicity wanted to be outraged but she knew his motivations were pure. “Did she know you felt nothing for her?” 

He stalled on answering that one so she did for him. “Why didn’t you tell her Oliver?” 

He had no good answers so he opted for gut wrenching honesty. “I needed the leverage and frankly I didn’t think she’d let me have what I wanted if I said I didn’t love her.” 

She was taken aback at first but still held her ground. “So you lied to her?” 

He didn’t say yes but he also didn’t say no. “It was an arranged marriage Felicity and that’s it. I don’t know what more you want from me...” he began to complain so she silenced him with a few barbed words. 

“I want your heart on a damn platter. I want to know why you stayed in fake marriage; I want to know why you thought lying about this was a better idea than telling me the truth.” 

He started to argue and again she silenced him. “No you don’t get to state your case.” 

He held his hands up again but asked one final question, “Are you leaving me because of the lie or are you leaving me because you’re scared?” 

She glared with ice now once more forming within her slightly warmed heart. “Don’t, just don’t. This has nothing to do with my past it has to do with your choices.” 

He agreed but pressed on. “I didn’t love Laurel that’s true. I still kept her safe; I kept her where she requested to be kept, and just so you know for the first two years I hardly left her side. I was there for every nightmare, and every awful episode. She was the one who sent me away! She was the one who requested to be locked in that damn tower! I didn’t leave her willingly she made me! So before you make this about how horrible I am let’s discuss the emotional facts. I care for Laurel  as if she was a member of my family and yes I kept her from you but guess what it wasn’t just my idea. The first night I was here I went to see her as I always do when I come home. She was barely lucid and clawing at the damn walls but I was there. I told her about this amazing woman that probably saved my life. I told her about our meeting in the library a few nights later. I asked her for permission to end our arrangement and guess what she said!” 

Felicity could barely stand she felt so guilty. “She said yes.” she muttered weakly feeling the world beneath her feet beginning to slightly crumble. 

He rapt out bitterly, “I didn’t love her like I do you but that doesn’t mean I didn’t care.” 

She swallowed her guilt and glanced at the weathered floorboards. “You still broke my heart...” she whimpered. “You still tore my world apart and for that alone I can’t stay with you.” 

She saw his shoes moving closer. She felt his breath over the nape of her neck seconds later. “She signed the papers. She’s not my wife anymore...” 

Felicity laughed in bitterness. “That doesn’t fix it Oliver. You lied to me and destroyed my faith in you.” 

She felt his warm fingers brushing over the small hairs just below her hairline. His touch made her skin prickle with desire while her mind fought back with betrayal. She wanted to pull away when his lips touched her skin. She wanted to break the contact but couldn’t force herself to relinquish his touch. “Do you want me to beg? Because I will. I’ll get down on my hands and knees if you want me to.” 

She shook her head as his lips found her cheek. “Oliver please just let me go...” 

He murmured, “No...I won’t lose you. I can’t.” 

“You did the second you lied to me,” she replied as his index finger found the bottom of her chin. With little to no effort he pushed her face upwards. Her eyes caught the presence of a single tear as it fell softly over his broad cheek bone. She let her hands travel over the contours of his dress shirt until her index finger could trace along the path of the single, fallen tear. 

He breathed, “I love you..” 

She replied in kind as their lips softly met. It was a chaste meeting of two lover’s lips. It was short and timid as she ended the union with her parting words. “I love you but I won’t stay with you.” 

Before he could pull her back into his warm embrace she pushed him away and ran out the door and perhaps even out of his life. 

* * *

 

Oliver waited for the door to slam closed before hollering for the man waiting in the hall. “John I need you.”

John Diggle his friend and sometimes bodyguard walked through the doorway holding the very key to his marital freedom. “Do you think she’ll say goodbye or simply take off?”

Oliver dragged his fingers over the curve of his chin. “I’m unsure. She’s honorable but what’s been done can’t be healed with a few well placed words and kiss to the forehead.”

“What are my orders boss?”

Oliver glanced over his shoulder smiling in reply. “Once she leaves for town follow her, and perhaps plead my case?”

John didn’t smile he simply frowned in disappointment. “She’s not your prisoner man. She was going to be your wife and Lyla’s going to kill me,” he moaned just as the side door opened.

“No I’ll kill you if you don’t help me get her back,” his wife stated with slight annoyance.

Oliver greeted her with a tepid smile, “Lyla you aren’t in any condition to go wandering into town,” he argued knowing once her mind was made up there was no changing it.

“Oh I’ll be fine you on the other hand are going to do what we discussed last night. Moira has to be taken down and Laurel has to moved before her lucid state becomes less stable,” Lyla declared with the precision of a drill sergeant during war.

Diggle just nodded in silent agreement while Oliver began to mount his offensive approach. “My mother well be handled soon enough and I’m not sure moving Laurel to an even more secluded townhouse would be advisable.”

Lyla stepped forward until she was close enough to punctuate each word with a slight jab to his square chest. “Oliver, Felicity is the best thing that has ever happened to you. John and I will get her back but you better have one hell of an apology once we do. Secondly Moira sent Laurel to kill your bride so yeah she has to go and third, Laurel’s made her choice so let’s honor her wishes and let her be near the person who loved her most. Agreed?”

Oliver saw the fire in her eyes. She wasn’t caving this time and for once he knew why. “What would I do without you?” he asked in agreeable surrender.

She smiled lightly, “You’d die miserable and alone.”

With that they each took a seat and devised a plan to bring Felicity home.


	13. Part 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own nothing in relation to Arrow or "Jane Eyre" all characters are owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow respectively.

 

 

**Chapter 13**

 

 

“She’s gone and, yet I see no signs of celebration? Why isn’t he seeing that this was all done for his own good?” Moira posed the seemingly innocent question towards the room’s lone occupant.

Her emotional prisoner pressed his index finger to the rim of the whiskey filled glass and began to run the rough pad over the cold, sticky surface. Moira looked over at him with a quizzical stare and asked her question again, “Why doesn’t he understand? Why doesn’t he see that I did this all for him?” 

The man’s finger stopped. His once strong, broad shoulders had been warped by time into two shuddering masses. His proud jaw was now a memory as he sadly sighed, “Why don’t you see?” he asked her gently. “Why don’t you understand?” he continued with a quiver in his tone. “Why don’t you realize that love is more important than power?

Moira’s shrill words were swallowed as she took an unsteady seat. “Love is a fleeting emotion Robert, but power is eternal,” she lightly decried with no hint of remorse. 

He nodded quietly and proceeded to run his finger along the glasses rim. “Yes for us that was true but for them it wasn’t.” 

Moira’s fingers braced the bridge of her nose as those cold, lifeless eyes flew shut. “Why did you marry me Robert? she sighed in defeat. 

He chuckled lightly, “Once upon a time you were the woman I loved and then..” 

“I changed,” she interrupted with bitterness in her tone. “I showed you my true colors and yet,” she paused allowing for Robert to answer her unspoken question. 

“And yet I stayed because despite it all you were still the woman I loved.” 

Her eyes glanced upwards as a slight smile spread across her usually frowning lips. “You said that to me after Oliver was born.” 

He smiled briefly, “And again after Thea.” 

She couldn’t help the small sob that erupted from her throat. “I’ve done horrible, unspeakable things Robert.” 

He croaked out, “So have I Moira, so have we all but you keep adding to your sins.” 

Her hands fell to her lap, “I’m the only one who can fix this aren’t I?” she breathed with a hallow pit forming in her churning stomach.  

Robert’s finger paused over the glasses rim, “Moira you tried to have the girl killed,” he started with a heavy sigh as he threw her a horrified glance. She shrugged helplessly and choked back a heavy sob. 

“She’s the woman he loves,” she finally admitted with tears forming in her eyes, “and I’m the only person who can make things right,” she reaffirmed with a timid tone. 

Robert’s eyes softened just a bit when she gave him a helpless glance. “You’ll have to tell her everything,” he warned without sympathy or regret. “You owe them both at least that,” he stated as his skin paled. 

“I know,” she wept. “I know...” 

* * *

 

The halls were quiet as she crept past each tightly closed door. Helena’s door was the only one with a small crack of light reaching out past the darkness of the hall. She removed her shoes and padded carefully past the space hoping its occupant didn’t see her broken shadow as she passed. Helena didn’t see her but another person did. 

“Haven’t you caused enough damage for ten lifetimes do you really need to create more?” she snapped from across the way. 

Moira stopped and whispered urgently, “I’m trying to do the right thing so go back to bed and let me do it.” 

Thea shook her head scowled, “Yeah like I’m leaving the fate of my destroyed family in your hands.”

Moira’s eyes widened, “Thea no...” 

“Stop,” she uttered with a raised hand. “I’m getting her back and that’s final.” 

Thea disappeared back into the darkness of her room only to reappear with a beige coat wrapped around her thin form. She grabbed a pair of keys and shut the door firmly. Moira stared at her daughter’s small hands in confusion. “What’s with the keys?” she asked only to have Thea wink and then reply, “Unlike you I have ways of hearing about everyone’s dirty laundry.” 

Moira wanted to ask another pointed question but stopped when she recognized one of the small silver loops on the thin circular chain. “You have the keys to every room in the house?” she asked in a mixture of shock and pride. 

“Yup, I stole them when Ollie first brought me here.” 

Moira stared, “What are you up to?” 

She was then given a silent answer when she watched with pride swelling in her chest. “I’m going to stop Lyla and John from getting to Felicity before we do,” she eventually replied as she slipped the silver skeleton key into the door near the end of the hall. 

Moira actually smiled, “You are very clearly my daughter.” 

“Yeah too bad you were so determined to know nothing about me,” Thea replied coolly before glancing down the narrow walkway. “Okay let’s go before Lyla uses the tunnels,” she added with urgency as she began to slightly jog down the hall. 

Moira followed after her daughter in shock. “So how did you find out? You weren’t even in the library when Oliver left?” 

Thea glanced over her shoulder and then began down to step down the steep flight of stairs. “Please this house has ears and I’m young but not naive. I’ve been using those tunnels to sneak out for almost two years,” she explained before muttering, “shit” when the step beneath her cracked. 

Moira couldn’t help but grin, “So you were hiding in the tunnels when Laurel decided to stalk Lyla into them?” 

She nodded and stepped past a broken board with her hand tightly wrapped around the railing. “I was trying to see my boyfriend before Oliver had the tunnels closed off, I wasn’t expecting loony toons to come through them with Lyla on her heels,” she replied easily with a flippant tone. 

“I didn’t know Laurel went first?” Moira squeaked almost in shame as she too stepped past the broken step. 

Thea mumbled, “Well you did ask her to kill Felicity so is that really surprising?” 

Moira had to admit the girl may have been young but she was still a formidable opponent. “It seems the walls have ears,” she countered hoping the girl would once again show her true colors. 

Thea stepped off the landing and rounded the sharp corner. “Given how Tommy died I’d say me sneaking around to keep tabs on things is the least of your concerns, so if we’re done playing twenty questions can we please get the hell out of here?” 

Moira froze, “You know how he died?” 

Thea whipped around with very little emotion evident over her angular face. “I’ve made my peace with who you are and what you’ve done,” she started with ice coursing through each word. Moira marveled at the woman before her. Her hair was long and wavy to the middle of her back. Her from was slight but strong, and her eyes were deadly as she sized up her prey. “You had Tommy killed. You destroyed my life, and tried to hide me from the world.” Moira felt the venom dripping off her tongue as she volleyed each word towards her. “You took away every good thing I had and then made Oliver pay for your sins.” Moira’s eyes fell as she mumbled a contrite, “I made mistakes....” 

“Yes mother you did but Felicity won’t be one of them. Lyla and John were going to let her leave town; they were going to give her space.” Moira felt her body shudder in regret. 

“You’re afraid time won’t make her heart grow fonder...” she realized with a dull, lifeless tone. 

“Yes,” Thea snapped. “I’m afraid she’ll move on and find some healthy relationship with some humdrum, boring goodie goodie who will never love her the way my brother does,” her irrational reasoning made Moira’s feet shuffle before her. 

“Wouldn’t that be better?” she asked softly wondering if perhaps this relationship was truly doomed from the start. 

Thea’s deadly gaze wavered for a split second as her lower lip trembled. “Felicity has no family did you know that?” 

Moira saw her lithe fingers shaking over her crossed arms. Her heart began to thud sharply against her chest. “Felicity’s my family Moira, she’s his home and frankly we’re her’s. Could she find a healthier dynamic yes, but she won’t find her home. We, Oliver and I we’re her home and I won’t lose her because of yet another demented power play from you.” 

She weighed her daughter’s words and lightly replied, “What else did those two amateurs plan?” 

Thea cracked a small half assed grin and smirked, “They we’re going to plead his case and play on the whole distance makes you long for each other thing.” 

Moira couldn’t help but lightly cackle, “Please she’s not stupid.” 

“That was my response,” she started before her lips fell quiet. 

“So you managed to take another journey through the tunnels before Oliver had them sealed?” she questioned in her own motherly way as Thea lightly nodded. “Did they have any real plan?” she asked curtly. 

Thea shook her head, “No. They think talking to her will do the trick but you and I both know she needs more than he’s sorry she needs the truth.” 

Moira sighed with emptiness filling her very soul. “So your plan was to get the truth from me and then what have her come back to Oliver with bitterness still lingering in her heart?” 

“No...” she answered unconvincingly. 

Moira frowned, “I thought as much.” She now moved her shuffling feet forward and reached for her daughter’s hand. Thea at first pulled away but Moira was insistent. “I can heal this family do you want my help or not?” she asked with her hand still dangling between them. 

She saw the wheels churning rapidly within her conflicted mind. “Thea make up your mind otherwise you’ll have to stay behind and trust I’m doing more good than harm.” 

Finally she wavered and stubbornly accepted her mother’s hand. “Where are we going?” she asked timidly.

Moira answered her with remorse and regret, “We’re going back to the start...” 

* * *

 

Watching your mother steal a car should be a scarring moment but for Thea it was a defining one. She hid behind an old water barrel while Moira moved towards the two guards at the gate of the estate. She smiled and even did a small hair flip while she inched a hand into the flummoxed guard’s pocket. Thea watched with fascination as Moira let the younger man’s hand glide down her shapely backside. She gulped when Moira’s fingers raked roughly through his short, darkish blonde hair. However when she saw her mother trail the edge of her black pump up the guards cuffed pant she gagged and looked away. 

By the time she had the stomach to resume her previous activity the guard was lying on the guard and Moira was walking back with a pair of keys dangling from her hand. “How did you?” she started only to have her mother’s fingers land over her pursed lips. 

“Not now, we have to leave before the other one comes back.” 

Thea said, “comes back?” 

Moira waved her off whispering, “Again not now...” Thea pulled herself up from her crouched position and brushed the dirt off her knees. “So which car did you snag?” she asked lowly as they began their journey through the estates many gated gardens. They moved through a large thicket of over grown trees when Moira finally gave her a small response.

She saw Moira glance down at the black key before she whispered, “Porsche.” 

Thea grinned, “Oh this just got ten times better,” as they moved quickly toward the lit pathway that would eventually bring them to the massive stone encrusted garage. The garage was going to overwhelm her Thea thought quickly just when Moira let out a low, “Crap!”

She glanced over her shoulder in shock, “Did you the high and mighty Moira Queen just say crap?”

Her mother glared before pointing down at her broken heel, “This was $500.00 dollars so yes my wealthy ass just said crap, is that okay with you?”

Smiling slightly she replied, “Yeah just shocked you knew common curse words.”

Moira chuckled sarcastically, “Very funny, she who’s wearing a designer outfit worth more than her Governess’s monthly salary.”

“Touché,” Thea bowed mockingly as the large stone building came into view. The structure itself was impressive upon the first and then even down to the fifth viewing. It resembled a small medieval castle, with two towers one on each end and even a small balcony over the oversized bay doors.

Once there even Moira had to do a double take. “This is his garage?” she asked in a somewhat jealous tone. 

Thea no longer marveled at its size she simply drooled over what was housed inside. “Yeah well you didn’t let him have other distractions so I’m guessing he made do...” she muttered in response as she swiped her fingers over the keypad. The older woman stood behind her in stunned silence watching her type in the ten digit code from memory.

“I take it this isn’t your first trip to the garage?” she finally gulped.

Thea shrugged off the shock of her whispered words and pushed the heavy door open. “He was away and up until Felicity my Governess’s were more interested in bagging the warden instead of teaching the ward,” she explained as she walked down the first row of unused cars. Thea heard her gasp as they moved past the first ten high valued foreign cars. She swore she heard her stomach drop to the floor when they went down the row of classic cars that were made solely by Ford.  She felt her trailing behind so she stopped and waved her hand lightly through the air, “This way looky lou!”

That seemed to garner her fractured attention but only for a small moment. Soon her attentions were once more diverted by the car at the center of the building. Thea sighed cursing inwardly, “Dammit, he swore he’d get rid of that old relic.” She moved back down the row quickly in an attempt to refocus the woman she barely knew. “Ummm we have to go and you staring at an old tarp isn’t making things easier if you catch my drift…” she lightly chided only to receive a small almost tortured, “He kept the car…”

Thea blinked in confusion, “You know about the car?”

Nodding Moira gave her a ragged, “Yes it’s actually how our tortured little story begins.”

Thea wanted to ask more but just then she heard the tell tale sounds of one guard coming to as the other one hollered from the just outside the locked door. Instead of telling her they had to go she opted to pull sharply at her elbow and then pulled her down the rest of the isle until they were finally to the one with seven Porsches in a variety of colors. Moira was still wrapped up in the tarp covered car so Thea yanked at her key holding hand and beginning squeezing the unlock button. She heard the sharp ping of the car in question and pushed her rather preoccupied cohort to the waiting black vehicle. The yells were growing louder so Thea finally pinched the skin of her elbow and whispered, “Umm you need to drive the car so could you please snap out of it!”

“What?”

Thea repeated her previous question, “Can you drive the damn car!”

Moira recoiled a bit but regained her pride just seconds later. “Watch your tone and yes get in the damn car.”

Thea huffed, “Well good so do it!” as she rounded the corner and headed toward the passenger side. Once they were both seated she pushed the opener on the rearview mirror and chanted happily, “Fire up the engine and let’s blow this pop stand!”

Moira rolled her aging eyes but turned the key and revved the engine. Ten seconds later they were flying down the stone laden path leaving two very flustered guards in their wake.

* * *

 

Thea waited about ten minutes before finally breaking the rather tense silence. “So what’s with the mystery car and where the hell are you taking me?” 

Thea watched her fingers tense over the black leather steering wheel. Her skin seemed to grow paler as they drove down the moonlit back roads. Her voice when she spoke seemed tortured if not somewhat haunted. “The car was Robert’s and where going to the abandoned villa near the edge of Westerly lake.” 

Thea not understanding the explanation pressed for more, “Ummm still not understanding, “ she quipped which made Moira’s frown crack. 

“The car was how I found out about Robert and Rebecca and the lake house is connected to Laurel.” 

Again Thea was left with lingering questions. “Yeah I need more,” she explained as the car suddenly turned off the nice paved road and onto a small dirt one. Thea glanced out window and then back to Moira, “Ummm you do realize that it’s dark and umm the house is probably locked if not filled with the local homeless population right?” 

“Thea, I promise I’ll explain but we have to get into the house for me to do it okay?” she almost begged as the car began to slow. 

Looking out the windshield Thea saw they’d arrived at the never before seen location. “I’ve never seen this house before,” she muttered lowly while Moira placed the car into park. 

“I’m not surprised, this house was closed up shortly after Tommy died, and it didn’t hold many pleasant memories for Malcolm...” she added as an afterthought before asking once more, “So can you give me the time I need or should we just turn back now?” 

Thea for once weighed her options. If you she went back now Felicity was gone. If she stayed a small part of her feared she’d be another body dumped into the dingy lake water but, she’d come too far to stop now. “Fine but one last question?” she asked in a very innocent tone. 

Moira nodded wearily, “Yes Thea I have a key since the house is technically mine. 

With that the younger woman agreed and began to exit the car. “So umm why are we...” her voice dropped into a low whelp as she stared at the darkened structure. Moira’s hand on her shoulder didn’t even register she was so stunned by what she saw. 

“I take it by your silence that you’ve heard of this little nightmare?” 

Thea nodded slowly, “They said it was burned to the ground...” she muttered. “They said his body was destroyed...” she nearly sobbed as she took two heavy steps forward. Moira’s hand slipped off her shoulder as her voice filled the chilled air. “As you can see some elements of the story were edited.” 

Thea looked over the half destroyed structure as she reached out to touch the blackened door. Her fingers dragged along the soot covered frame leaving a small tell tale trail. “Moira?” she called out lowly. 

“Start talking?” she quickly supplied. 

Thea turned around and replied, “Yes.” 

Moira’s thin lips became even thinner as she glanced around the broken down section of the structure. Her voice seemed almost devoid of emotion as she called out, “Felicity you can come out now.” 

Just then through the low hanging trees came a mess of blonde hair with a small amount of soot over her left cheek. “You left me the note?” she croaked with more emotion than even Thea could possibly comprehend. 

Moira looked at them both and frowned in remorse. “I don’t regret my actions let me be clear on that one point but,” 

“But what? You realized that sending someone to kill me was a bit out of line?” Felicity screamed as she stepped around the house’s debris. 

Moira stepped back and held up both hands, “I did what I did because I love my son,” she argued. 

Felicity screamed back, “Well so do I!” 

“I KNOW!” she finally admitted. “I know and that’s why I brought you both here.” 

Felicity stood there silently letting Thea finally speak up. “So start from the beginning with you, Robert, and the stupid old car.” 

“Okay,” she replied simply as Felicity moved to take Thea’s chilled hand. 

Moira walked up the half broken down stairs and reached inside her left pocket. Felicity now had Thea’s hand wrapped tightly in her own while the younger woman openly wept into her jean jacketed shoulder. Her small arms where wrapped around the older woman’s waist. Moira saw the tenderness in her touch as she placed a timid kiss to her pale temple. “Come on we have to go inside,” she instructed as she carefully pushed open the now unlocked door. 

Felicity led a weeping Thea into the half destroyed home taking care to avoid any disrupted boards. She whispered over Thea’s head, “Moira this house should be condemned.” 

“Just follow me,” she instructed tonelessly as she moved with ease through the uncharred section of the house. She heard their soft footfalls behind as she moved towards the back of the house. “On the left is where the kitchen would have been located and on our right is where the family room was set up.” She wondered silently why she was acting like a tour guide until the newly finished door finally came into view. Felicity’s sharp intake of breath made Moira’s heart flutter. “Oliver had this section rebuilt after the fire. It was meant to be a wedding present for Laurel but all that ended in flames.” 

Felicity chirped, “No pun intended?” 

Moira actually cracked a genuine smile, “The room was meant to gift for Laurel. He thought that rebuilding what was deemed on the blueprint as Laurel’s space might give her a piece of someone she lost. Tommy created the room based on a some random dream she had as a little girl and my dear son wanted to recreate his vision. On the eve of their wedding he brought her here at the stroke of midnight alone without myself or Mason there to keep her in check. Laurel saw the home and lost it. She reached into Oliver’s jacket pocket and found a small box of matches.” 

Felicity interrupted, “Why did he have matches with someone who’s a known fire starter?” 

Moira pushed another key into the newly refurbished door and called back over her shoulder, “Oliver didn’t know who started the fire, and he had no way of knowing that it was Laurel’s fractured mind that led to the house’s demise.” 

Felicity replied back coldly, “He would have if you’d just been honest with him.” 

Moira agreed, “Yes and once we’re through this door you’ll see the depth of my son’s affections for you I suspect.” 

Felicity muttered, “What,” just as the door began to squeak open. Moira sighed in regretful acceptance. 

“Come Miss. Smoak, come and see what he was planning to do.” 

Felicity with Thea still anchored to her waist padded forward. “Oh my god,” she uttered as she stepped past the threshold. Moira kept both of them under her watchful eye while she searched for a source of light. Near the front door laid the box of matches from the original fire and about three candles that were never once lit. With care she opened the worn match book and removed the first matchstick. The sharp sound of the match striking against the flint like board echoed through the cavernous room. Once each candle was lit she held the largest one in her small hand and attempted to shed some much needed light on the rather dark, very chilled space.

Moira held the light source toward Felicity’s shell shocked face. She watched in awe as her eyes fluttered before they widened. She too began to slowly glance around the room. Her heart seemed to shuffle between beats while she watched Felicity’s heart break all over again. “Laurel liked windows,” she blurted out without thought when Felicity moved towards the bank of frost covered glass. 

“Yeah I do too,” she was hesitant to admit but did so once she saw what was written over each glass pane. 

“I’m unsure about the meaning of the written words but I’m sensing they have something to do with your very short courtship,” Moira threw out when Felicity’s fingers began to lately trace over the small loop of Oliver’s y’s. 

Felicity laughed lowly, “It’s a long story...” her voice dropped when she threw the older woman an odd glance. “You tried to have me killed why am I telling you all this! “ asked more to herself then Moira. 

Moira tilted the candle slightly so the light would eliminate her face. “You’re telling me this to prove a point and my son came here to prove one as well.” Her words went unanswered as Felicity continued to take in the space.

Taking a few steps back towards the small couch near the back of the room she acknowledged the unique relationship they now had to share. “What else in this room speaks to a moment between you and Oliver?” 

She head the incredulous gasp and asked again, “Felicity I’ll explain everything but first tell me what in this room was put here by my son.” 

She heard Felicity’s low whisper, “Thea sweetie we’re going to sit right here on the window sill okay?” She heard her daughter murmur, “Okay,” before she saw their shadows dip down to the black marble sill. She waited with the back of her calves hitting against the wooden rim of the old Victorian couch. Her eyes softened watching the small moment between two souls. One was her own blood and the other was still an uncertain factor. 

“So what else did he place in here for you?” Moira asked again when she cleared her throat. 

She saw Felicity’s blue eyes flit over the space of the small alcove shaped room. The long line of windows was nearly ten feet tall and covered the expanse of the entire back of the un-burnt section of the house. Each window had a small frost covered message written across the surface. Felicity’s eyes brimmed with tears so Moira followed the path they’d taken. There in a small corner was a stack of old books raging from “Jane Eyre” to “Pride and Prejudice”. Moira commented lightly, “I believe those are first editions...” 

Felicity tried to hide her emotion laden voice with a small smile. “That wouldn’t surprise me actually.” 

Her eyes traveled along the scratched floor boards much to Moira’s surprise so she asked, “How do these old scuffed floors factor into your relationship with my son?” 

Felicity’s red eyes lowered softly as Thea snuggled closer into her side. “I was raised by a variety of people but, what made me feel at ease in a new place was how the floors looked. I had a theory that if the floors were scuffed and worn then the place was actually a home,” she babbled softly then added, “I know it doesn’t make any sense but that’s why he probably came in here and scuffed them up...” 

Moira laughed lowly, “So you’d feel like this was your home. 

“I think it’s sweet,” Felicity commented as her eyes drifted up to the exposed beams of the curved ceiling. “Why did he do this?” Moira heard her ask with a eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“This was where his part of the story began, and this is where he learned about Laurel. Re-doing the room for Laurel was his way of convincing himself that while he wasn’t ever going to be in love with her he might be able to cherish her. He was trying to be a better man and almost got killed for his trouble. Coming here on the eve of your wedding was to set the stage. The window must speak to a special moment between the two of you. The books speak to your mind and how you’ve always seen the world. The floors speak to your character and how sometimes polished doesn’t mean perfect,” she replied in earnest while the younger woman gave her a confused look.

“But why here? Why use a room that was meant for her?” Again her intelligence made Moira take notice.

“Take away the books, and the messages on the windows, hell take away the scuffed floors and what do you see?” she asked knowing Felicity would easily connect the dots.

Felicity did another visual survey of the room. At first her lips were thin and frowning as she attempted to see the bigger picture. Then as she took in the added details her lips began to slowly curve into a half hearted but still saddened smile. “The walls are white, and other than two end tables and an old couch there’s nothing in here to that speaks to Laurel’s character. The room was empty and done without regard to the person it was meant for,” she realized vocally then added lightly, “He didn’t know anything about her but he knew about me…”

Moira nodded and lightly clapped her hands. “Give the girl a gold star. Yes it was intended for another but he was making a point. This is just an empty room, for an empty relationship with no hope of growth. This was his past and by bringing in elements of you he was attempting to merge his past with his present.”

She saw the questions behind those piercing blue eyes but Felicity wasn’t ready to give up all her secrets in one sitting. Felicity brushed off the sentimental moment and guided them back to the matter at hand.  “Anyways we need to get back to your heartfelt confession and not me spilling my guts to yet another person who hates me okay?” 

Moira softly bent her knees and lowered herself gracefully down to the old faded fabric of the well preserved couch. “Are you comfortable on that ledge or would you prefer to choose another seating location?” she asked rigidly with her hands folded in her lap. 

Felicity showing her first sign of being frozen shivered then rested her cheek over Thea’s head. Her lips that were usually a pale pink now looked somewhat blue as she mouthed, “Talk Moira,” so she didn’t have to disrupt the sleeping teenager on her shoulder. 

She was about to speak when she noted how easily Felicity was able to comfort her child. She was able to rub her hands gently up and down her daughter’s arms in gentle, soothing motions while she slept. Felicity it seemed was able to do what Moira had never been able to do for either of her children. She was able to love them openly with no hidden barriers. Felicity caught her stare and asked quietly, “Are you going to start talking or should you take your very tired and so completely grounded child home?” 

“You do love them don’t you?” she asked bluntly. 

Felicity answered just as bluntly, “Yes but that doesn’t matter anymore.” 

Moira shook her head, “Yes it does.” 

Felicity argued, “He could have told me from the start but he chose to lie to me. He chose to break my trust and with it my heart so no love in this case doesn’t matter.” 

Moira smiled coldly, “This is where you and I are very similar.” 

Felicity stared at her in disbelief, “You and I are nothing alike,” she verbally argued while hugging Thea tightly. 

Moira’s eyes fell, “Once you’ve heard what I’m about to tell you, you’ll see that once upon a time I did have a heart and it was my unwillingness to forgive that created the life I didn’t want.” 

Felicity pursed her lips and stated with coldness, “I would never kill someone.” 

Moira’s razor edged voice created yet another void in her own bleeding heart. “And that’s why he’s in love with you. You proved that love doesn’t have to hurt you to be real. You showed him that love doesn’t have to destroy you or make you a vile human being. You showed him that loving someone doesn’t mean he’ll turn into another version of me,” she explained sadly with knotted fingers. 

Felicity mumbled, “I don’t understand.” 

Moira mumbled back, “Then let me help you understand.” 

“I’m ready to listen if you’re ready to talk,” Her words tumbled forth from her lips like a disjoined mass of conflicting emotions. 

She swallowed what was left of her pride and sighed heavily, “When I met Robert it was like coming home.” 

She smiled softly at the warm memory and continued to paint the rather vivid picture with hues of amber and beige. “He was so beautiful Felicity; he was this tall strapping man with warm eyes, and dusty blonde hair. I fell for him instantly,” she laughed awkwardly while crossing her legs at the ankles. “Our first date was a drive in movie. He picked me up in this old beat up 1965 Ford mustang with the bumper hanging on by a thread.” 

Thea mumbled from Felicity’s chest, “Oliver keeps swearing he’s going to rebuild that death trap.” 

Felicity asked lightly, “Is it okay that I’m lost?” 

Moira nodded, “Yes it will make sense later on.” 

With an audible gulp she continued while Felicity held her sleeping daughter. “I was born to a poor man and an even poorer woman. I wore the same secondhand dress to our first ten dates and he never said a word. He just took my hand proudly and kissed my brow gently. He made me feel so loved that it made me forget where I came from.” 

She cleared her throat preparing herself for the emotional wall she was about to slowly break. “His parent’s objected to our union as well. They told him I was trash and only after one thing.” 

Felicity coughed lowly, “Get to the point Moira my shoulder’s going numb.” 

She laughed in spite of herself. “Sorry. My point is I understand how it feels to have nothing.” She saw Felicity’s brow rise. “and I know what it’s like to have someone like me meddling where she’s not needed.”

Felicity accepted the small apology but not without a price. “I understand you love your son but nothing you can tell is me is going to change what happened or your part in it.” Moira felt those words considering she’d done everything to make sure they’d be said.

She had what she wanted she kept repeating to herself quietly. She’s not going back and Oliver being Oliver will most likely self destruct if left to his own devices. She’d won and yet, here she was in a house with no heat, in the dark with two people who felt nothing for her but complete hatred. Her next words were as frozen as the air around them, “I watched my husband bed another woman in the back of that old beat up classic car, I then had to suffer in silence as she bore his first son. I spent years watching Robert disregard our child in favor of the one he had with that sniveling Rebecca Merlyn.” She laughed inwardly as her words continued to flow. “The affair with Malcolm was supposed to remind him of what we had, it was supposed to encourage his more jealous tendencies and all it did was show his true colors. Once Thea was born yes I despised her, I wanted no reminders of my misdeeds so I contacted Rebecca and made her a deal, I’d leave Tommy alone if she agreed to raise Thea. Oliver was my ticket and I wasn’t about to let a simple mistake ruin his future.” She saw Felicity shiver not from the cold but from the hatred she was harboring within her heart. “I pushed my son into a loveless marriage with a mentally ill woman and then tried to undermine him at ever single turn,” she paused and gulped sadly, “I love my son but if you loved him the way you claim to then sweetheart you’d be doing whatever you could to remain by his side.”

Felicity was about to react but Moira was faster.  

She shifted on the couch so her back was no longer aligned with the soft cushion. Once her body was curved she raised her folded hands and extended both index fingers. She then pointed to the far back corner saying, “On that table you’ll see yet another sign of what he intended to do once you were made man and wife.”

Felicity peered over Thea’s head spying the small camcorder on the lone oval shaped table. “He has video evidence?” she asked as lightly as she could.

Moira’s confidence buckled but she pressed on. “This would have been an olive branch if you will. What’s on the video is what you already know but it might shed some light on why he decided that lying was better than being honest.”

“Who’s on the recording Moira?” she asked coldly.

Moira’s tone faltered but she answered her none the less. “The person I had killed. The recording is from Tommy.”

* * *

 

Felicity weighed her options carefully. Moira was the hidden snake in a field of beautiful flowers. She was the one who would lie in wait as her prey stupidly skipped through the innocent looking fields. Her trap was a silent one with no warning and no possible retreat. She was also the mother of two people who were supposed to be her new family. Her other option was a recording from many years earlier. Felicity herself could build a computer so she knew how easy it would be to alter an old recording. 

The choice was hard. One had her listening to the serpent blather while the other might actually give her answers to questions she had yet to even ponder. Glancing down she saw Thea’s sleeping face. Her long lashes were fluttering gently against the pale skin of her under-eyes. Her lids moved rapidly as if she were trapped in a never-ending dream. Next she glanced over to Moira who looked like she was about to be ill. Her usually composed face looked worn and torn. Her emotions for once were playing off the soft wrinkles near her aging eyes. Felicity despite everything actually felt pity for someone who’d done some much evil simply to attain the dream of a poor unloved girl.

Her choice was clear. 

Moira had the words but the video would have the truth. There would be no agenda or game to be won. With ice crystals forming throughout the cords of her fraying heart she let out a heavy, “I’ll watch the recording but I won’t do it with you or Thea in the room.” 

Moira’s lips thinned but a silent deal had been struck. Without a single word she rose moving gracefully over the hand scuffed floors towards the oval shaped table. Felicity watched her lithe fingers handle the camcorder with great care as she quickly moved toward the crowded window sill. Once she was within reach she placed the evidence in Felicity’s shaking hand. Felicity then also without uttering a single phrase gently shifted out of Thea’s death grip while Moira came and gathered her small form into an awkward embrace. She saw the young girl’s eyes flutter and slightly open as she mumbled, “Don’t leave me.” It was Moira who whispered against the crown of her head, “Never again, sweetheart. Never again.” 

She then pulled her up and forward until she was able to support Thea’s weight. She then whispered, “Sweetheart I need you to walk for me, it’s time for us to go home okay?” 

Felicity heard her mumble, “hmmmm yes...” Then seconds later she watched Moira take one small step as Thea blindly followed. 

Felicity sat down on the dusty window sill once more with the black camcorder shifting between her two hands. She mused aloud once she heard the engine of the car roaring to life, “How did he get those messages on those upper windows?” 

Of course she was greeted with silence and a few branches scratching at the higher window panes. “I can’t believe he did that for me,” she breathed. “I can’t believe he feels that way about me,” she mused aloud once again only to have nothing but silence answer her query. 

She laughed at herself and glanced at the message on the window next to her. She reached up and over until her index finger was once again running over the simple words. The message was simple and pure. He hadn’t used any pretty language or poetic phrases. He’d been himself. He used simple words with no double meanings. “Beautiful eyes” was the first one. The one above it read, “Kind smile”. The list went on and one but they were all pieces of the same puzzle. She looked over her shoulder lightly smiled. That message was her starting point and the rest of the windows were the path to the final piece of her written puzzle. The first window said, “How I fell for you” She then glanced up and squinted but still she was unable to make out the words on the last pane. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With two well timed hits to the middle of her palm she was able to activate the flashlight on her phone. Seconds later the blinding light filled the room; she then raised her arm upward and shined the new found light onto the top of the glass lined room. His last message made her heart break all over again. 

“You loved me” 

She mumbled sadly, “He said loved...” 

She glanced back down to the video player in her lap and frowned. “I wanted answers,” she grumbled. She hit the edge of her phone against her palm twice to shut the flashlight down. Moments later she placed the phone on the window sill and with trembling fingers she opened the video screen and slowly pushed play. 

The technology was outdated and the screen was cracked but what really irritated her was how fuzzy the playback was. Nonetheless she reached for her glasses that she kept stored in her bag and slipped them on. Then she bent her head and began to watch the rather handsome storyteller weave his very twisted tale. 

At first all she could see was a dark green wall. She muttered, “Dude seriously needs some coaching...” before she swallowed her next insult. Tommy like his half brother benefited from the right genes in the right place. Felicity breathed, “God could one of you been hit with the ugly stick.” She guessed he was tall like Oliver based on his broad shoulders and large hands. While Oliver was darker in the eyes Tommy was pure light. His eyes literally twinkled when he gave the camera a lopsided grin. Her heart actually fluttered when he ran his long fingers through his dark almost jet black hair. Felicity commented loudly to the empty room, “Geez he’s hot!” 

All she got was a loud creak from what she assumed was a falling branch as it landed over the charred floorboards. His voice was like velvet as he finally spoke his first saddened words. 

“Hey man, well if you’ve seen this then I’m guessing your mother finally convinced Malcolm to kill me.” Felicity wanted to stop the video there but she resisted the urge as her finger hovered over the stop button. His next words made her regret resisting the urge. “If I’m gone then I’ve got the favor of all favor’s to ask for. Oliver I need you to marry Laurel Lance.” 

Felicity yelled at the small device, “YOU WANT HIM TO WHAT!” Based on the all the stories she’d been told that day Oliver didn’t know that Laurel was ill, hell based on everyone’s stories everything had been arranged by Moira. Her head was spinning and her heart ached so she kept watching while silently cursing the dead. 

“Now before you chuck this into the nearest wall hear me out. When you walked away from the family business and forfeited your shares to me it pushed a forming plan into action. I became the son our father wanted while you went off to form a name for yourself. I’ve become the CEO of two multimillion dollar companies in the span of two years and, I sense my time is almost up. So bro here’s the deal. Moira made a deal with Malcolm. Once I’m dead she’s going to contact you at that point my favor is going to make a lot more sense. Do what she wants. Agree but on one condition you are to become Thea’s ward. I’ve laid it out in my will but I’ve learned not to trust your mother so just in case make that a selling point.”’ 

Felicity had to chuckle. The video continued stating things she already knew. Mason was Laurel’s brother and would be Oliver’s ally, Thea was to inherit his shares only if he or Laurel were gone since he’d given his shares to Laurel upon their engagement. All of this she knew but then he finally came to the information that she didn’t know. “Oliver attached with this video is a detailed letter listing off the times and the dates of when things have to occur. I’ve mapped this out almost down to the letter but I can’t account for everything. I can’t predict if you’ll fall in love, I can’t tell you how everything is going to play out but I can tell you this,” Felicity leaned closer to the screen feeling somewhat drawn into the tangled web this very soft spoken man was weaving. 

“Be careful with Laurel.” Felicity felt her heart beginning to break. “She’s the love of my life and the idea of not being able to spend the rest of my life with her makes me sick but I’m guessing fate made other arrangements. I need you to protect her Ollie, I need you to see past the surface to what’s beneath. I need you to be better for her than I could ever be.” 

His last words left her crushed. He didn’t know because once again yet another person he trusted decided to use pretty words to conceal the ugly truth. “The plan is simple. Once I’m gone you’ll have to follow my instructions to the letter. You’ve already quietly forfeited your Queen holdings but now you’ll have to publically do it. Once you’ve taken over Merlyn Global, Mason had been told to contact you. He’ll give you the next letter with another set of instructions for how to handle the arranged marriage. He’ll help you if the need should arise but remember he is a backup plan. Only use him and that pit viper Helena if you have no other choice. Laurel is the key. She has my holdings and as my wife she’ll also have guardianship over Thea. Moira will make sure you and Laurel meet so don’t do anything just wait and let her move my agenda forward. Finally once you’ve made a name for yourself turn the tables. Give both companies to Thea she’s both a Queen and a Merlyn. Moira will be destroyed by the daughter she hid.” 

Felicity was so engrossed by the video she failed to see that the door to the private room was no longer closed. It wasn’t until the intruder coughed that she dropped the camera shattering the confession for good. 

She glanced up screaming, “LOOK WHAT YOU... her voice trailed off when she saw the stranger at the newly built door. Her throat tightened as he took two very careful steps forward. 

“If you promise not to scream I swear this will be much easier,” he said lightly with his small attempt at humor. Her heart went cold. 

“She saw you die...she saw a bullet fracture your damn skull!” Felicity muttered darkly. 

The intruder nodded in agreement. “She saw me fall but that bullet wasn’t near my head...” 

He stepped into the dim lighting. “It was closer to my neck if we’re being honest...” 

Felicity gulped as a dead man stood before her. “You’re Tommy Merlyn,” she blurted out in short, terrified breathes. 

He sensing her unease gave her a stupid grin, “Yeah and you’re the reason I came out of hiding.” He took another careful step forward while smiling widely. “Felicity Smoak I’m here to make amends.” 

* * *

 

After two minutes of shaking like a leaf Felicity’s lips finally began to move, “I’m losing my mind,” she rambled out loud. “I’ve officially gone insane,” she ranted as her dead stranger took a seat on the coach Moira had vacated. 

“I would agree since you’re sitting in a room with no heat source in the dead of winter.”

Felicity looked over his face and saw to her immediate disappointment that his face hadn’t aged by a single day. “You’re not really here are you?” 

Her hallucination nodded eagerly. “Give the girl a gold star. Right now my friend you’re slumped over with your very frozen nose touching the very frozen camera screen.” 

Felicity’s chest ratted as she coughed, “I’m suffering from hypothermia I take it?” 

Again he nodded with an eager smile. “Now why you’re choosing to see me and not your beloved Oliver is odd but since I was the last face you saw I guess it makes a small amount of sense. 

She glared at her own figment and hurled out a surly, “Oh shut up, this was probably that crazy woman’s plan all along. Bring me out here, share a tender moment and then leave so I’ll freeze in a house of literal death.” 

Again her own mind mocked her, “Well she did try to kill you once so yeah this was a pretty stupid move.” 

Felicity growled, “I’m annoying even when I look like an attractive man. 

Tommy smiled which made Felicity’s glare flare. “Well I’ll admit you do have good taste.” 

She licked her frozen lips and spit out, “Great my inner voice is a cocky, arrogant man.” 

He just looked over his long, muscular arms and grinned proudly, “Oh you’re only seeing me because the one you want to see currently would cause you too much pain. Also you’re not ready to admit you’re going to forgive him so you needed to see me the one who made him do all this to begin with.” 

Felicity cocked her head and asked in a dry voice, “Oh please do tell.” 

Her figment gave her a cocky grin and shifted one leg over the other. “You just watched his brother beg him to not only marry Laurel but to then save Thea. Are you honestly telling me that you’re not going to run back to that house if you don’t die first of course and say I love you and you’re forgiven?” 

Felicity mumbled, “I’m not having this conversation with a damn figment!” 

Her mind disagreed, “Oh I think you are otherwise why did you choose me? Why did you pick the face of the person who you truly blame? He caused all of this just by being born! He knew what Moira was doing and instead of stopping her he let it happen! He left Oliver a damn dear John video asking him to give up his life’s happiness!” 

She wanted to stomp about the room but realized no matter what she did it wouldn’t matter. His soft smile was becoming harder to see as the room around her began to grow dim. “He lied to me,” she grumbled with chattering teeth. “He lied to me and yet I can see why,” she admitted as her eyes began to feel heavy.

The figment before her nodded in agreement with a smile of pride not of mocking plastered across his damn face. “He lied because it’s what he’s always done; he lied because that’s how he was raised. He made the wrong choice but perhaps it’s time for you to stop running away and doing the same?”Felicity knew she was fading fast when his voice began to slowly ebb away.  

Before her eyes slid shut perhaps for good she mumbled quietly, “Do you think the real Tommy would have liked me?”

He smiled gently with that same twinkle in his eye. “He would have loved you Felicity, he would have loved you to the moon and back,” he whispered as her world suddenly went black.


	14. Part 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

 

**Chapter 14**

 

 

With her body trapped in what might be an eternal slumber Felicity’s mind drifted off to a time where her only thoughts were of the future that had been cruelly ripped away.

Her mind chose a moment that still even if she died in this damn house would make her heart actually glow. It was a few nights before their ill fated wedding day. Thea was sleeping soundly in her warm bed, the other occupants had fallen into unsettled slumbers hours before. Felicity could remember glancing down over their tangled bodies. His head was resting snuggly over her slowly rising chest with his nose buried in the crook of her warmed neck. She could pinpoint each time a small shiver of excitement ran down her spine because it matched up with the softness of his lips as he gently caressed her neck. One strong forearm was anchored around her lower back while the other was lying happily over her taut stomach. Their legs went from tangled to untangled depending on how the other shifted along his new very soft mattress. His sheets were ruffled and his curtains drawn so the only light came from the roaring fire in the massive stone fireplace at the other side of his bedroom wall. She would have laughed had she been able as her mind drifted toward one of her favorite conversations…

* * *

 

“What if I mess it up?” 

She felt him draw a ragged breath when his whiskers brushed over her inner neck. He moved his hand softly in small rhythmic patterns over her stomach while she in turn lightly scratched her nails along the nape of his neck. His nose tickled the skin at her collar bone when his lips moved in amusement. “You do know that it’s just repeating lines right?” 

Felicity chuckled lightly, “You do know I’m prone to making mistakes right?” 

He countered mockingly, “Well then I guess I’ll have to call off the entire shoty affair. 

His lips curving as he spoke made her skin tingle. “I’m being serious Oliver, I’ll have an audience who’s just waiting for one poorly timed word,” she breathed uneasily; making his head rise and fall with the deep movements of her chest. 

He drummed his fingers along the fabric of her old, faded plaid shirt in silent contemplation. She could almost hear the gears moving when she glanced upon his rugged face. His forehead was furrowed; the blue of his eyes almost seemed alive and teeming with various hues of grey and green. She silently mused inwardly that they reminded her of how the sea looked right before the sky crackled with the electricity of a coming storm. The pads of his fingers paused when he shot her a worried glance. “You’re not having second thoughts are you?” 

Felicity rubbed her fingers softly over the smooth skin of his neck and smiled brightly in response. “Don’t be silly,” she muttered quietly. “You’re my happy ending and in a few days I’ll get the chance to be yours...” she swiftly added before dropping a lazy kiss to his suddenly smooth brow. 

Oliver sighed in relief. “Then what was the long gaze for?” he asked her probingly while their legs slowly began to tangle. She almost laughed out loud when the ice cold skin of her toes traveled along his left ankle. He blurted out, “Hey! I’m all for cuddling but not if I’m going to get frostbite in the process!” 

She couldn’t hold it in any longer. She laughed loudly against his ear, “Remember that night in the library you asked why I’m always wearing socks?” 

He nudged at the juncture of her neck with the tip of his very warmed nose. She drew him closer by anchoring her calves around his upper thighs. He whispered softly, “You didn’t say they were like the glaciers that sunk the Titanic, Felicity.” 

Her heart began to hammer in her chest when his fingers began to linger along the waistline of her sweat pants. She replied shakily, “Seriously Oliver what if I mess this up?” 

His lips were warm and soft as he placed a few small kisses to her heated skin. Her pulse raced like waves through her body as his fingers traveled slowly underneath the fabric of her shirt. Her skin prickled at the slightest touch, his finger pads felt soft and comforting as they traveled around her taut stomach and up near her navel. Her stomach lurched and her body shuddered when his soft laugh vibrated through her core. “Then repeat after me,” he encouraged as he let his fingers fall over her now exposed stomach until half her torso was blanketed by his warm palm. 

She gulped loudly against his ear, “Okay...” 

He mumbled gently, “I Felicity...” 

She mocked him gently but repeated, “I Felicity.” 

“Take the Oliver Queen,” he continued in a soft voice. 

She rolled her eyes at his corny attempt to calm her nerves and repeated, “Take the Oliver Queen.” 

“To be my lawfully wedded husband,” he breathed with an affected shudder right before he playfully bit at her exposed pulse point. 

Felicity giggled but again repeated, “To be my lawfully wedded husband.” 

“Do you need me to continue or are you feeling a bit more confident?” he asked with his still affected sounding voice. 

Taking mercy on the man lying over her chest she ran her fingers down his covered spine until she reached his lower back. Using her brightly painted nails she slowly dragged them along his naked skin waiting for his body to react. She smiled to herself when the pads of his fingers tensed lightly along the edges of her abdomen. She tilted her head until her lips were at the crown of his head. “One more question,” she whispered teasingly. 

His fingers tensed as did his entire body when he sighed heavily, “and that would be?” 

Her lips curved, “Do I have to love, honor and, obey?” 

She felt his smile before she heard his raspy, “Love will be just fine, although I’m sure we could negotiate on the obeying aspect...” 

Her words were cut short when he began to kiss his way slowly up the column of her neck. All she managed to squeak out was a low if not sultry, “You’ll be the only one doing the obeying in this relationship,” before his lips finally found hers. 

* * *

 

 The room was dark, and the air was filled with ice as she ran toward the back room. Felicity was there muttering about what she didn’t know as she carefully stepped past the threshold and headed toward the back wall made of glass. “Beautiful but, impractical,” she commented lowly as the girl’s eyes continued to move wildly behind her tightly shut lids.  Moira called over her shoulder to the police caravan behind her, “See as I told you she’s right here!”

Three men with guns drawn and pointed at her chest advanced forward with one leading the very overly dramatic charge. Moira scoffed at the absurdity with her hands bracketed at her hips. The darkness of the half destroyed home made the white of their shirts look almost blue as they crept carefully over the rotting floorboards. She stood there gazing at them in annoyance while the woman at her feet continued to release staggered, shallow puffs into the chilled night air. Her lips were nearly blue and her paler was ashen. Moira clicked her heel impatiently and called out to the limited crowd, “If you don’t get here soon my son’s bride to be will be a dead popsicle.” 

A louder, more angered voice boomed over the chatter of the three men in black and white. “She wouldn’t be in that state at all if it weren’t for you!” 

Moira squinted spying her son grabbing at random shoulders as he pushed his way through the very small crowd. Felicity’s small gasp drew her annoyed gaze down toward her feet. 

“Well I’ll be damned,” she muttered softly. Moira sunk down to her feet and placed a gloved hand upon her frozen cheek. The girl mumbled again and the sounds made even Moira’s heart clench. Her chest seemed to rattle with pain each time her lungs attempted to expand. Her lips were growing bluer by the second. Moira leaned closer until she could see the small icy formations upon her fluttering lashes. “Felicity can you hear me?” she asked plainly with almost no emotion. 

Her victim mumbled in between shivered with chattering teeth, “Oliver, I need Oliver...” 

Moira’s own frozen heart warmed a bit like the Grinch’s did in that old cartoon movie. She felt her frozen features crack into a sad, resigned smile. “You take care of them for me,” she lightly begged. “You show them that love doesn’t have to hurt,” she lightly cried just as the angered voice once more echoed through the cavernous room. 

“Get away from her!” he shouted. 

She swiped her thumb over her grey tinted cheekbone, “I’m finally going to pay for my sins,” she breathed. “He finally found a reason to make me,” she admitted as she began to rise. She heard their loud, heavy footfalls hammering away at the creaking floorboards. His steps she heard the loudest as her memories made her stomach coil up into tight knots. 

The officers yelled, “Mrs. Queen please back away from the girl with your hands above your head.” 

She shot them a withering glance and threw back a scathing, “I turned myself in you idiots!” 

All three drew around her in a tight semi circle with their registered firearms now leveled at her cold heart. Felicity stirred once more and Moira screamed, “Oliver get over here! She’s muttering again!” 

Her son instead of stepping past the three armed idiots came up beside her. His anger seemed to ebb away as his sadness took over. She didn’t have to feel his hatred filled touch nor hear his scathing remarks to know how forlorn his eyes would be. “It’s hypothermia so get down here and keep her warm until the paramedics show up,” she ordered very gently knowing these would be their last few moments spent as mother and son. 

He brushed past her without a second thought and instantly fell to the floor with his hands landing over her frozen face. “Baby?” he asked so tenderly that even she was taken aback. “Baby please talk to me,” he begged with a sob strangling his vocal cords. 

Moira shot the officers a look and mouthed to the one closest, “Get it over with.” The officer nodded quickly and waved a hand towards the other two men. They lowered their weapons slowly while keeping her fixed with stern eyes. She gulped despite herself and began to stand with her arms raised in the air.  

The lead officer pulled out the silver, metal cuffs. Moira felt her skin beginning to prickle as the grey haired gentlemen drew closer. Oliver was still on the broken down floorboards. His forehead was pressed to her’s. His strong breaths and mangled pleas were being whispered against her frozen lips. 

“Ma’am we have to take you in now,” the officer stated sternly but still kindly as he reached for her first hand. He gripped at her left forearm and began to tug at the numb limb. She let the extremity fall like dead leaves. The first cuff was unlocked; the metal clang made a piece of her soul shrivel until it turned black and died. Her wrist burned the moment the cold cuff hit her small delicate bones. Her head fell forward as he repeated the movements with the opposite arm. It wasn’t until she heard the rich tenor of his aged, tired voice that her heart began to stumble over each painful beat. “Moira Queen you’ve been placed under arrest,” her heart thumped louder.  “For the murder of Thomas Merlyn, and the attempted murder of Felicity Smoak.” He began to walk her backwards out the room. Her chest constricted as he continued to recite his well worn speech.  “You have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” She wanted to scream too late but nothing came out. Her thinning lips remained glued together as her pulse raced. “You have the right to an attorney, if you can’t afford one, one will be provided....” 

Moira shot her grief ridden son one last look as her heart thudded one last time...”I’m sorry,” she screamed before she fell with a painful thud to the half burned floors. 

* * *

 

 “Was it really a heart attack or just another ploy to keep her out of prison?” 

“I don’t know but the doctor seemed fairly convinced. She’s stating both her left and right ventricles are clogged. She’s fairly surprised that she was asymptomatic.” 

“I’m surprised she actually has a heart.” 

“Lyla!” 

“What! The woman has been scheming for the better part of thirty years! I’m surprised she wasn’t struck down each time she set foot on holy ground.” 

The conversation around her was muted but the direction was clear. Moira was in critical condition in another ward of the hospital. Felicity attempted to swallow but found the action was hard to complete. 

The sheets felt soft, not like Oliver’s but still soft and inviting against her raw skin. She moved her fingers over the cotton fabric slowly attempting to enjoy how it felt as it brushed against her skin. 

She smiled softly with her eyes still closed. “You can’t hide from him forever you know...” a small voice reminded her from the edge of her subconscious. 

Felicity grumbled quietly while the conversation beyond her door continued without her. “I’m not ready to face him.” 

Her hallucination disagreed, “You’re only hiding from the truth.” 

Felicity sighed, “I’m still dreaming aren’t I?” 

Her vision chuckled but still walked to the side of her bed and took her bluish hand. “You’re in the hospital. The voices you’re hearing are Mason, Lyla and John Diggle.” 

She nodded wearily, “So where’s Oliver?” 

Tommy’s smile was small but earnest when she finally opened her eyes. She asked him softly, “What’s with the cat that ate the canary grin?” 

He gestured to her other side. She pivoted her head so her neck barely moved and let her eyes linger on his sleeping face. “He fell asleep a little over an hour ago,” Tommy mentioned while Felicity took a deep, steadying breath. 

“He looks worried,” she noted with sadness layering her voice. 

“He is. Moira turned herself over to the police after she brought Thea home.” 

Felicity glanced sideways and gasped, “She what!”

“It’s true. She led Thea into the house only to find that Oliver was there waiting for her. According to the three outside she told him everything. She told him that she used a note to lure you out to the old abandoned house near Westerly Lake. She told him about the conversation and she also told him that you were probably watching my very charming mug make a very detailed request. Either way after he heard where you were he took off for the house but was stopped by Moira’s police detail.” 

Tommy looked smug or she did since he was all a product of her mind. Felicity glared, “And....what else have I heard!” 

He cocked that handsome face and gave her his signature lopsided grin. “She had Thea call the police.” 

Felicity laid there stunned. “Is Thea okay?” she rambled quietly while the room suddenly began to warm. 

Tommy nodded soberly, “Yes she’s fine. She’s with her mother I suspect.” 

Felicity attempted to swallow for the second time and found that the act was still difficult. “Why can’t I swallow?” she asked as her skin began to prickle. 

Tommy’s smile slid into a very defined frown. Felicity’s brow furrowed as he sighed. “What’s wrong with me?” she asked in fear. 

He squeezed her hand gently and used his free hand to brush the hair from her eyes. “In your mind you’re fine but in reality you’re not in great shape.” 

Her mind raced. The air around her was starting to feel stale like it was being recycled through a beeping machine. “I had hypothermia...” she muttered. “I was freezing to death...” she continued as Tommy’s hand grew tighter within her own. 

“You’re connected to a ventilator. They think one of your lung’s collapsed,” he began to explain but Felicity cut him off. 

“I know the rest. I had pneumonia as a child. It was a nasty case from the start and it left my respiratory system compromised,” she explained to the man who was really an extension of herself. 

His face looked cold, and exhausted. “They think it happened when you began coughing uncontrollably.” 

Felicity laughed darkly, “Great I’m going to die and I’m choosing to spend my last minutes with you...” 

Her vision smiled slightly, “I didn’t get a vote,” he reminded her. “Only you have the power to change my rather handsome face...” he stated before the hand in her own shifted into a very familiar one. 

Her eyes adjusted as his dark hair turned lighter. His cocky grin shifted into a loving one and his light eyes changed into the ones that made her heart stutter everytime they locked onto hers. Her panic eased and her humor lifted as his thumb began to run lovingly over her knuckles. “I see you’re ready to face me,” he stated with a dopey grin. 

Felicity relaxed letting her eyes flutter lightly. “I was going to forgive you eventually,” she yawned. “I was just hurt and confused,” she added as an afterthought before reaching up to touch the hand that was lightly cupping her check. 

Oliver grinned lovingly while taking a seat on the edge of her bed. Felicity scooted over so his hip was by her waist. He thanked her by bending forward and kissing her brow. “Well you’re ready to see me so what did you need to say?” he asked her with those soft lips still brushing over her still warming skin. 

She closed her eyes and savored the moment. “I love you,” she whispered. “I love you and I just needed you to know that it’s forever okay?” 

Her vision kissed her softly once more and squeezed her hand tightly. “Would you do me a favor?” he asked in the tone that made her knees suddenly liquefy. 

She purred, “Anything...” 

He chuckled lowly and kissed the space between her eyebrows. She crinkled her nose and giggled slightly, “I’m going to miss this side of you.” 

Her memory of his sense of humor repaid that comment with a small tug at her hand and a low laugh. All she did was smile slowly.

His lips moved to the tip of her nose as he whispered, “Repeat after me...” 

Felicity’s heart hammered in her chest. “No....” she begged. “Don’t make me relive this memory, not here when I’m minutes from dying,” she pleaded with herself as the air around them grew even warmer. 

Oliver’s lips caressed her top lip before moving down to lightly caress the bottom one. She felt her fingers digging into his skin as she moved her lips against his. Her pulse was growing thready so she finally made her true feelings known. “I Felicity take you Oliver Queen as my lawfully wedded husband, to have to and to hold from this day forward,” she started when she felt something clawing within her. 

He murmured along her bottom lip, “I Oliver take you Felicity Smoak to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse,” He repeated as they’d done not more than four days prior. 

She could feel him slipping away; her mind was growing fuzzier with each moment that passed so she pressed forward. “I’m sorry that I broke your heart but you broke mine,” she admitted finally as she felt his touch fading from her skin. 

He said what she wanted to hear right before his face disappeared from view. “I should have told you the truth, I never should have lied to you, I should have let you into my life the way you let me into your heart.” His whispered words made the tears fall freely from her clenched eyes.

“Don’t leave me,” she begged, “Don’t leave me not yet,” she cried while searching frantically for his hand. 

“Please don’t leave me...” she heard a gruff voice plead. “Just open your damn eyes so I can see the disapproval you now hold for me.” She thought the voice was just her mind toying with her before the lights finally went out.

Felicity swallowed her last pitiful words and struggled to find his voice one more time. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered almost painfully. 

When she heard his voice it wasn’t coming from her memories, it was being whispered against her trembling hand. “Just stay with me,” she heard him whisper as his lips moved over her bruised knuckles. 

Her eyes flitted open and upwards to his fading face, “I’m waking up aren’t I?” she asked with a mixture of relief and sadness. 

His warm smile did what it was meant to do; it brought her home. “You already know the answer so why are you afraid of completing the action,” he asked her with the same tone he used on the day they first met. 

The feeling of his touch was growing stronger, she could almost smell the leather of his jacket from her bedside chair. He was here, he was holding her hand, and pleading with his lips over her skin. All she had to do was decide. 

“I’m in love with him,” she muttered knowingly. “I’m completely in love with him and he broke my heart...” she ranted to the air. 

Her mind gave her one last parting sentiment, “Then forgive him and grow up. He made a mistake and you’ll make them as well. Fact is no one’s perfect so let him earn your forgiveness, let him atone for his poor judgment, let him make it right.” 

She sucked back a gnarled cry and finally with a shudder in her tone whispered, “Okay.” 

* * *

 

She always imagined that waking up from almost freezing to death would be a slow, simple process. First her lungs would expand filling her inner chest cavity until the sides of the strong, oxygen filled organs were slightly touching against the bones of her ribcage. Next after she’d pulled in enough air her arms would extend outward with her long, dexterous fingers reaching out along the sheets of her warmed bed. Finally she’d exhale slowly with barely parted lips before she whispered lowly with a dry throat, “Water.” 

Finally once all those steps had been completed she would open her bright, blue eyes, giving whomever was there waiting for her a big, dopey smile. She’d imagined all of this but what she couldn’t fathom was the reality of her situation. Her subconscious had warned her, she knew her condition was critical but still she couldn’t help but feel startled and alarmed when she tried to take her first deep breath. 

The long, plastic tube made her lungs burn and, her throat crack when she began choking on the foreign object down her throat. She was disoriented and confused. her limbs felt heavy and alien as she used her chaffed hands to grab at the tube. She was stopped only by a firm but soothing grasp over her delicate wrists. His voice was like soft velvet as his words gently caressed the pale skin of her cheek. “Baby please calm down and don’t struggle with the tube okay?” 

His firm fingers gently tightened over her skin as she brought her fear filled eyes to his. He smiled kindly with those glorious blue orbs and slowly pushed her fingers down to her sides. She let his touch ease her frayed nerves; she let his kind words and soft tone ease her heart into a state of reluctant rest. She wanted to speak, hell she wanted to yell but all she could do was stare at him openly hoping her gaze would telegraph every emotion that passed through her chilled body. 

Once her breaths were coming in slower bursts she saw his fingers move toward the call button by her right side. He again in soothing tones explained, “I’m going to call the nurse. She’ll get your vitals okay?” 

Again all she could was bob her head slowly while he pressed the small white button. 

The nurses rushing past the gathering crowd at her small door made the closely knit trio surge forward. She saw Oliver nod his head to the side gesturing for them to give her and himself some space. She managed to twist her neck. By doing so she was able to spot Lyla, Mason and another darker skinned man. Her eyes raked over Lyla’s ashen face. She looked tired, aggravated and annoyed while the other man whom she didn’t know stood by her with his large palm resting over her slumped shoulder. Mason she spotted seconds later when he was forced away from her door. He had the mixture of fear and confusion flashing brigthly in his wide eyes. Hearing Lyla’s soft voice made Felicity’s fingers itch to reach out. “We’re here for you both,” she’d said as the first nurse pushed her way into the room. 

Mason gave Oliver a small head tilt and ventured quickly down the hall. The other man remained with Lyla by the door even after the second nurse pulled it shut. They stayed peering through the small window watching closely while the nurses delivered the news that her subconscious had already supplied. Felicity twisted her head back toward Oliver’s waiting eyes. He mouthed, “Hey baby,” to make her smile and she did the only thing she could do she smiled back with her eyes.  

The first nursed looked younger than Thea with her flawless skin and wide chocolate eyes. She could feel her shaking fingers at her wrist when she went to check the IV. She wanted to say something comforting but the blasted tube made that impossible. Thankfully Oliver caught her distress and gently asked the other nurse to assist her. The second woman nodded and moved toward her IV line. Felicity flashed him her best thank you eyes. He grinned and again mouthed, “You’re welcome.” 

The second nurse was taller than the first one. She had bright red hair and emerald green eyes. She swiftly changed out the tubes and readjusted the dosage. Then without a moment’s hesitation she made sure the cuff on her left arm was secured and the pulse ox over her right index finger was safely in place. Once she was done fussing with every tube but the one down her throat she shouldered past the first nurse and moved toward the board attached at the bottom of her bed. 

“So....” she started with her eyes raking rapidly over the various readings and results. “You’re one very lucky young woman.” 

Felicity made a gurgled groaning sound that sounded like she was attempting to breath underwater. The nurse glanced up and winced slightly, ‘Yeah sorry about that. When they brought you in you were choking, they assumed your airway was blocked so they intibated. Once I’ve gone over the charts I’ll ask the doctor if that can be removed okay? 

Felicity blinked rapidly making the nurse smile. “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

Felicity’s eyes brightened in gratitude making Oliver ask, “Is that really advisable? Her lung was collapsing when we first got here?’ 

The nurse glanced back over the chart and then rechecked her vitals. “Per this her readings are good. Her lung apparently didn’t fully collapse they just thought it did based on some scarring that was found when they did the first round of x-rays. If her oxygen levels remain stable we’ll remove the tube and let her breathe on her own. If need by we can always give her a mask okay?” she asked them both. Oliver nodded silently giving the nurse a pensive stare. Felicity felt his thumb rubbing over her knuckles as he contemplated her words. 

The nurse glanced back at the labs once more and asked her next probing question. “Per this she was found nearly frozen, may I ask why?” 

Oliver’s head shot up making Felicity’s fingers grip down over his own. He glanced at her wide eyes and winked quickly. “She was lured to the house by my mother who’s currently in critical condition two floors up.” 

Felicity thought she’d flat line right there but, apparently she was wrong. “She was attempting to clear up a rather delicate matter and in doing so she endangered my wife’s life.” 

This time her heart rate did spike. The machines beeped wildly making both the nurse and Oliver stare at her quizzically. Oliver’s lips brushed over her skin as his fingers brushed over the pulse ox’s cord. He murmured against her red knuckles, “It was the only way I could stay with you...” 

The nurse asked slowly, “Is there something wrong ma’am?” 

Felicity’s eyes shot between them both. She debated for a matter of seconds before gesturing toward the bedside table. The younger nurse moved to pick up the pad of paper, then the pen. She moved quickly placing them on the thin, white blanket and backed away slowly. Felicity managed to grip the pen between her index finger and thumb. She felt every eye lingering on her trembling hand as she scrawled out, “Okay...” 

She let pen thump down on the pad as the nurse stepped forward. The girl who’s eyes so reminded her of Thea looked over her shoulder nodding, “she’s okay Linda. It’s okay.” 

The main nurse grinned brightly. “Okay well then I’ll go grab your doctor and once we’ve gone over these test results we’ll see about getting that blasted tube out of your throat.” 

Felicity gave her a stiff thumbs up making all three of them chuckle lightly. “I’m glad you’re humor is still intact Mrs. Queen,” Linda smiled as Oliver gently kissed the inside of her palm. 

“Me too,” he whispered as both women quietly left the room. 

Felicity waited for the door to slide closed before she grabbled with the pen once again. Oliver caught her movements and reached over her stomach to still her shaking hand. She glared and he couldn’t help but smile, “I was afraid I’d never get to see you do that again,” he admitted. 

Her eyes softened. She edged her fingers around the edge of the pad and pushed the paper’s edge towards his pinkie. He mumbled, “Stubborn woman,” but realized what she was trying to do. Caving he reached for the pad and pen. She grinned again with her eyes alone and went to jerk her other hand away from his reach.

His eyes fell slightly when she pulled away but she ignored his pain knowing that her’s was far deeper. With both hands freed she held the pad in one hand her pen in the other. Oliver leaned back into the stiff hospital chair and squared his shoulders. She shot him a sideways glance and crossed out her first word. He leaned forward and, she pulled the pad down. He stifled a laugh and mumbled, “Fine no peaking...” with his hands held up in defeat. 

She clapped her hands together quickly before resuming her task. He waited with the patience of a monk while she crossed through line after line. She wanted to sigh, hell she wanted to talk but until the damn doctor appeared she was truly stuck. Finally after five minutes of rewrites she’d managed to write down what she was dying to convey. 

He looked at her with his brow raised when she offered him the pad. “Oh I can see it now?” he asked with humor. 

She shot him a dirty look and shoved it further towards his waiting hands. He smirked but reached out for the olive branch. When their fingers brushed her body tingled and her skin flushed. Oliver had to clear his throat before he was able to speak. “This took five minutes?” he asked in shock. 

She managed a half hearted shrug and a small head tilt. 

He shook his head muttering, “I love you too, but I thought forgiveness wasn’t possible?” 

She rolled her eyes and used her finger to jab his forearm. He winced, “Oww” she again rolled her eyes and attempted a small pout. Oliver caught her attempt and brushed his fingers lightly across her cheek. “I owe you the truth I agree but...” 

Just as he said the never good but, the door to her room opened. Linda the nurse from before came in first. Lyla and John were still lingering outside  with anxious looking faces. The doctor followed Linda in two seconds later. He was around 5′11 with salt and pepper hair. His nose had a slight crook near the bridge so his glasses looked almost cockeyed over his slim face. He smiled kindly with wrinkled skin and rosy cheeks. “So Felicity I’m guessing you’d like an update.” 

Again she would have given him side splitting grin but alas she had to blink rapidly. The doctor smiled and even gave Oliver a sly wink. “As we discussed before Mr. Queen your wife was brought in with what we thought was hypothermia and a collapsed lung. After reviewing the scans and her vitals we’ve been able to safely eliminate the collapsed lung theory. Her coughing was due to some severe scarring within the compromised lung’s tissue.” 

Oliver sighed in deep relief, “When can I take her home?” 

Felicity was more interested in when would they remove the damn tube so she again used her index finger to jab at his arm. He glanced down sharply so she pointed to her newest fashion accessory. He smiled sheepishly then glanced back to the doctor, “When can we remove the tube?” he asked with contrition making the doctor smile. 

“I’m here to do that right now Felicity.” 

Moments later Oliver was being pushed aside so the doctor was on one side and Nurse Linda was on the other. The doctor’s whose name she had yet to catch first manually checked her pulse, then he glanced over her vitals before placing a soft hand over her shoulder. “Okay now this is going to feel very strange so on the count of three I want you to close your eyes and take a really deep breath.” 

She nodded slowly, squeezing her fingers into the cotton sheets. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and gestured for Linda to grasp the tube. “Okay Felicity close your eyes...” she did as instructed while her knuckles became snow white. “Okay and ready, one two, take the deep breath and three...” 

Moments later her throat was free and her lungs were expanding painfully. She opened her eyes and immediately became alarmed. The tube was coated in what looked like reddish, brown slime. Her eyes widened and her heart clenched. 

“Dr. Robert’s she’s freaking out,” the nurse mentioned with a cautionary tone. The older gentlemen reached for Oliver’s hand, then like a Jewish matchmaker he casually slipped her clenched fist into his waiting palm. 

“Relax Felicity,” he instructed as she took another painful breath. “You’re okay, when we insert the tube it can cause some slight bleeding but your vitals are steady and we’re going to monitor you overnight. You have nothing to fear okay? Just hold onto your husband’s hand and attempt to relax.” 

She did as she was told. Her fingers reached out over the expanse of Oliver’s palm until she was able to lace her fingers through his. “My chest hurts,” she managed to croak with a bloody taste in her mouth. 

Her doctor nodded, “It will for a few days. How’s it feel when you talk?” 

She swallowed thickly and immediately wanted to spit, “Gross,” she uttered. 

Both the doctor and Oliver cocked their heads, “Gross?” he asked lightly. 

She flushed in embarrassment, “Sorry I really need a mint or even better a toothbrush with toothpaste.” 

Both men’s eyes crinkled in amusement, “I think she’s going to be okay how about you Mr. Queen?” 

His head bowed as his shoulders slumped, “Yes,” he laughed gladly, “Yes she’s going to be just fine.” 

She wanted to hide beneath the thin hospital blanket but resisted and instead turned her face into the pillow, “I wasn’t kidding about the toothpaste,” she mumbled. 

“So can I stay the night?” Oliver asked in a slight attempt to change the subject. 

“Yes and we’ll be checking her about every four hours or so,” he replied quickly before adding, “I’ll get Linda on the toothbrush Mrs. Queen.” 

She gripped Oliver’s hand and let out a garbled, “Thank you.” 

They left shortly after that both chatting quietly. Oliver remained at her side with her hand held securely in his own. “So you ready for that overdue talk?” 

She whimpered, “After I’ve brushed my teeth.” 

Oliver laughed while lightly whispering, “As you wish my love, as you wish.” 


	15. Part 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Chapter 15**

 

 

“She’s fallen asleep again,” Oliver whispered when Lyla poked her head into the room. 

“I figured,” she commented. “Linda allowed me to bring you these?” 

Oliver smiled quickly, “Felicity was complaining about the horrible taste in her mouth.” 

Lyla shared a similar smile. “Have you two...” she let the sentence drop when Oliver gave her a tired sigh. 

“That’s a no,” he muttered when she handed him the items so he could place them on Felicity’s bedside table. “John and I are going to head back to check on Thea. Mason’s with Moira,” 

“Still no change in her condition then?” Oliver interrupted with a shudder in his tone. 

Lyla’s sad eyes said more than her words could ever convey. “They don’t think she’ll make it through the night.” 

Oliver rubbed his palm gently over the nape of his neck. “Don’t ask me Lyla, she almost killed Felicity and she’s finally admitted what we always suspected about Tommy.” 

He saw Lyla lightly trail her fingers over Felicity’s brow, “She’s still your mother,” she remarked. “She’s still the woman who in the end gave Felicity the truth that you tried so hard to keep hidden,” she added with no malice in her tone. 

He glanced at their unspoken bond and his heart instantly ached. “She’s my everything Lyla and Moira nearly took it all away.” 

Lyla looked over at him with confusion, “How does watching me care for Felicity remind you of that?” 

He gave her a lopsided grin that would revile even Tommy’s, “You love her like a mother or an older sister right?” 

She nodded slowly at his question so he continued. “You would have done everything to keep us together but she did everything to tear us apart...” he realized aloud. 

Lyla was the one to connect the dots. “You wonder if she ever loved you as much as I love Felicity.” 

Oliver again gave her one of his signature sad smiles and said, “I’ve had the love of a mother who thought power was the only route to happiness. I didn’t realize until just now that loving Felicity helped me see that she was never the only one.” 

Lyla gave him a slow grin but kept her fingers over Felicity’s brow. “Call me when she’s ready for visitors?” 

“Of course,” he answered with a tired tone. “Let me know if Thea’s okay?” he asked in return. 

“Of course,” she easily replied. Moments later she gave Felicity’s hand a slight squeeze before she turned and reached for the door. Oliver watched her go while his fingers lingered over his aching neck. John put a steady arm over her shoulders as she stepped over the threshold. He kissed her temple and murmured something softly into her ear. She smiled and kissed his cheek before they moved as a single unit slowly down the hall. 

“Do you think we’ll ever be like that? You know so in sync with the other?” 

Oliver shot Felicity a surprised glance, “When did you wake up?” he asked her tenderly. 

She pushed her shoulders back moaning slightly, “I didn’t want to interrupt,” she croaked with what he assumed was a very sore throat. 

He leaned forward grabbing the glass of water with the bendable straw. She eyed him gratefully and attempted to sit up. He placed a timid hand over her shoulder, “Just adjust the bed baby,” he suggested while glancing at the button along her right side. 

She smiled shyly which surprised him. “Why the shy smile?” he asked coyly. 

She flushed as her fingers fell over the button to adjust her bed. “After all this you’re still calling me baby...” she whispered with a bit of a struggle. 

He squeezed her shoulder gently before letting his fingers trail down her arm and to her delicate fingers. “I can stop if you’d like,” he suggested with no real intention of ever seeing it through. 

She let him lace his fingers with her own. He was surprised by her sudden change of heart but didn’t push the explanation. Once the bed was in a better more upright position he asked, “Can you hold this on your own?” 

She smiled with her eyes before it reached her still off color lips. “Oliver relax, I’m hardly in any condition to run,” she joked before reaching for the glass. She let her fingers brush along his for a moment before glancing shyly at her lap. 

He glanced down at their joined hands and wrinkled his brow, “Why the sudden thaw? What happened in that damn house?” he asked her with hesitation lingering in his bleeding heart. 

She used her teeth to grip the straw then once it was held firmly between her lips she took a long, grateful sip. He couldn’t help but be envious of the damn water as it slid slowly down the disrupted muscles of her throat. He could tell the simple action caused her pain but, he could also tell that she didn’t care. “I’ve never been so envious of a straw,” he muttered lowly. 

Felicity smiled with the straw held lightly between her teeth. His stomach churned with longing so he gulped roughly and stammered, “Is it wrong that I want you?” 

Her lashes fluttered as she released the straw, “Is it wrong that I want you to want me?” she too stammered with a very rough sounding voice. 

“How’s your chest feeling?” he asked abruptly after hearing the roughness of her vocal cords in those few words. 

She coughed lightly, “Sore, but I’ll live according to Dr. Roberts,” she joked before her tired looking eyes fell upon her bedside table. The glass was all but forgotten when she let it plop onto the table over her knees. Small droplets of liquid spilled out over the nearly full rim while her fingers shook with delight. Oliver felt his ribs cracking from restrained laughter when she giggled melodically, “She actually brought them!”

She grabbed at the two simple items with as much vim and vigor as one her size could muster; then in a surprise move she actually hugged them to her wounded chest. Oliver couldn’t help but ask in utter confusion, “So ummm are you going to use the toothbrush or simply hug it like a childhood teddy bear?”

Felicity glared in mock annoyance but then pointed with the tube of toothpaste to the cup of water. Oliver dabbed at the spilled liquid with his sleeve before edging it forward with his index finger. She nodded very sternly with a serious looking frown. He cocked his head and smiled gently, “You’re not really going to ask me are you?”

She pulled her lower lip beneath her upper one with her front teeth before her upper lip raised to reveal a perfect row of white teeth. He sighed quietly, “give em,” then reached for the toothbrush and paste. He had to tug a bit before she relaxed her grip and then they fell easily into his open palm. His long fingers closed over the two precious items making her huff, “this has to be crossing some imaginary line.”

“Probably but what’s new?” he asked before holding out the toothbrush. She took it easily then watched him carefully unscrew the cap of the toothpaste bottle. He eyed her softly but kept his musings internal. She was nervously rolling the brush between her index and middle fingers. He wanted to still the rapid motion but hesitated when she stopped on her own and parted her lips very slowly.

He was at first slightly concerned but that faded when he saw her lips curve up to reveal another set of pearly white teeth. He pulled at the end of the brush until it slid easily between her fingers. He heard her gulp as her lips slowly curved into a tight oh. He pushed from the bottom of the tube and spread a small amount of paste over the white bristles of the brush. Her wide eyes seemed to grow with each snap of the delicate bristles; her chest seemed to rise rapidly as his fingers rested at the apex of her chin. She blew out a small breath before her eyes clenched shut. “Not too rough,” she lightly begged as he very carefully began to move the brush across her teeth. At first it was awkward. She was smiling like a clown who had lost the ability to fully close its mouth. He saw her flinch when he moved over her cut lip. “Sorry,” he whispered as the white of the paste began to color her saliva. She didn’t move she simply kept her eyes closed and her mouth open while he moved gently over each and every tooth. Two minutes later he removed the brush and handed her an empty Styrofoam cup. She spit out the paste before grunting, “water.”

He moved the cup toward her outstretched hand then stood and placed the used brush under a running water facet before he stowed it with his other personal items. By the time he walked back she had been able to rinse and spit twice. He saw her lips twitching so he reached for the bathroom towel, “left corner,” he pointed when the white washcloth fell over her lap. She leaned forward and groaned inwardly,” Ouch” just as Oliver reached out to help her. Again their fingers brushed making his heart spike. She smiled slowly and said, “Thank you,” as she withdrew her hand. He nodded in reply while dapping at the nearly hardened paste. Her eyes flickered with a hidden emotion that made his knees buckle.

“It took me four hours to get all those words on the blasted windows.” He suddenly blurted out.

Her eyes softened and flitted downward, “You said loved...” she croaked, “Why didn’t it say love?” He fell into the previously vacated seat and reached for her hand. He gave her a small grateful smile when she let him fold his fingers over the skin of the back of her hand.

He squeezed at her palm gently then sighed almost regretfully, “It said loved because I was listing the reasons why I loved you. I wasn’t speaking in the past tense, with you I never will be,” he explained quietly with shrouded eyes and a soft tenor. 

He felt her squeeze his hand back, “Tommy was your reason?” she asked very carefully. 

He shrugged and replied with a heavy sigh, “He sent me the letter about three weeks before he was killed.” 

He felt her adjusting her back along the bed. He smiled not out of happiness but in a degree of shame. “I knew something was wrong Felicity but I couldn’t face it. I couldn’t face what he was telling me.” 

Felicity whispered, “Oliver I saw the video, I know what you gave up so just trust that I love you enough to listen okay?” 

His head bobbed lightly, “I dropped out of three different colleges before I found one that was beyond my mother’s control,” he started with a cracking voice. “I was in my third semester at the latest college for eternal screw ups when he showed up at my door.” 

He knew he had her attention when she let out a small audible gasp. 

He lifted his red rimmed eyes and frowned, “He showed up holding about 30 files. He was muttering like a crazy person about how she was planning to kill him. I didn’t listen and tried to send him away...” his voice began to crack, “I sent him away Felicity, I sent him away when I had the power to save him...” 

She reached over with her free hand and placed her fingers beneath his chin making his head tilt upward. “That’s why you did all of this isn’t it? You felt that his death was your fault?” 

A single tear fell from his left eye, “I knew she was a bad person but baby I swear I didn’t think she’d ever go this far.” 

He heard the low groan of hatred emitting from her scarred throat. “How could she do this to you...” 

He wanted to lean forward and kiss those frowning lips but he hesitated and instead mumbled, “She came from nothing and, I suspect she felt that love meant removing anything from the path of me becoming the heir to her husband’s throne,” as if the phrase would be anything more than empty words said with an empty heart. 

Felicity’s skin seemed to cool even with the heat of his hand still pressed to her palm. The flicker of light that once brightened his dim landscape seemed to flicker right back out with his poorly worded excuse. He was about to add something when she blurted out, “Why did you really lie to me?” 

Oliver’s own skin began to cool when he heaved loudly, “The short version is Tommy but the long version is I was scared.” 

Her eyes flickered with shock, “That wasn’t a line...” she nearly panted. 

He laughed sarcastically, “Shocking I know.” 

She yanked at their joined hands and bit back, “It wasn’t an insult dummy it was shock.”

“Well lying clearly didn’t work now did it,” he retorted almost cruelly which shocked even him. 

Graceful and forgiving Felicity took a slight beat before she said, “Just fuss up and say it already okay?” 

“Say what? That I’m to blame for my own brother’s death? That for years I resented him? That when Thea was first born I was elated when she was sent away? Or I know how about I admit that I purposefully screwed up in college so I could shirk my responsibilities so my father’s chosen son could take the reigns!” Suddenly his heart felt weary. His chest was falling and rising rapidly with each strangled breath he managed to pull into his weary lungs. She starred at him with parted, trembling lips. He starred back with red rimmed eyes. “I lied because that’s all I’d ever done okay? I lived with a bad example of love and frankly I believed it. I believed all the vile stories she told me and yeah I played nice in public but in private I hated him Felicity. I hated him so much that when he asked me to believe in him I chose to walk away,” he breathed with faltering breaths. “I walked away when I had the chance to save him and this is my penance,” he explained. “This was my only way to prove that despite it all I loved my brother, this was my only way to say I was sorry...” he nearly wept as his forehead fell over their joined hands. 

He felt her fingers trailing down over the nape of his neck, her soft still mangled voice whispered tenderly, “I’m so sorry,” or “this was never your fault,” but all he could feel was the pain he felt the day he’d opened the door to John Diggle’s somber face. 

He snuffled shyly, “I lied to protect myself and it was wrong.” 

She carefully massaged over his raised, right shoulder blade, “When did you realize that you’d made a mistake?” 

Her voice shredded his heart with the force of a thousand knifes. “With Tommy clearly I saw the error after the fact but with you I knew it from that day in meadow. I knew then that I was going to regret every word that passed from my lips...” 

“And yet to did it anyway,” she interrupted lightly with razor sharp timing. 

Oliver shrugged beneath her touch but, kept his forehead firmly planted upon the back of her hand. “I told someone the truth once and that didn’t end so well...” he mumbled with obvious strain. 

He heard Felicity’s voice waver, “she must have been very special,” she whispered gently beneath her breath. 

Oliver’s body shuddered with remorse, “No must have been,” he started with a horse voice. 

Felicity’s fingers stilled when he finished with, “No must have been because it’s you, you know my truth, you knew my soul before I even did and look what happened...” he remarked. “Look what knowing me has cost you,” he tried to explain. “Look what it’s done to you,” he lamented with a small tone. 

Her heavy sigh made the hairs over the back of his neck bristle with electricity. “My cousin used to beat me up,” she whispered thickly. “He used to take whatever he could find,” she sighed sadly as her fingers began to tail over the shell of his ear. “He used belts, and books, and one time the metal fire poker to punish me for touching his father’s things.” Oliver pressed his lips to the knuckle of her thumb and whispered, “You don’t owe me anything Felicity and you already told me don’t you remember?” 

She laughed sadly, “I do remember but, I want your truth and that means you deserve mine.” 

Oliver felt something in her touch shift when he asked, “Are we really going to do this?” 

She answered ten seconds later, “Yes.” 

* * *

 

  Having Oliver’s heart this open wasn’t an opportunity she was willing to waste so taking her own advice she jumped off the diving board and, and just kept falling deeper and deeper until her feet hit rock bottom. He would have stayed in that damn chair for years if she’s needed him to but, Felicity was done waiting. She gently traced along his exposed jawbone to draw his attention to her unspoken need. He nuzzled at the tips of her fingers with his whisker covered cheek. Her skin prickled and burned with an easy contentment. She smiled shyly before gulping and then sputtering, “Would you be willing to hold me?” 

Oliver’s smile could be felt as it spread over the back of her hand. Her fingers traced along the small dimple as he whispered, “What the hell happened when you were in that almost coma?” 

“Is that a yes?” she poked him verbally. 

His forehead wrinkled over her skin when he muttered, “Like that was ever a question.” After that he moved his head forward and planted a soft kiss to her warmed skin. He glanced at her mouthing, “I love you,” as she mouthed back, “I love you.” He smiled happily and then began to inch his way upward as she began to scoot back. 

“Be careful baby,” he reminded when the pulse ox over her index finger began to slide off. 

She gave him a pathetic eye roll mumbling, “Unbelievable” 

Oliver just shrugged at her while also checking her IV lines. Once he was certain that her lines weren’t obstructed he then very carefully lowered the side rail along the bed’s edge and very carefully began to edge his very long form onto the very small bed. Felicity lifted her head and reached for his trapped left arm. She brought his palm to her lips; she lightly kissed the soft skin before she guided his forearm toward her rumbled pillow. He smiled gingerly and uttered a small, “Thank you.” 

Felicity waited for him to adjust once more before she placed her temple just below the juncture of his elbow. He slowly tangled his fingers through her very soft hair while he placed his cheek over his outer shoulder. The space between them was small. She could feel his small comforting breaths as they fanned across her face. He placed a timid hand over her raised hip and began to tap lightly over the curve of her bone. His eyes blazed with fear but also with a slight amount of hope as she placed a warm hand over his endearing twitch. With her other hand she reached over and rested her open palm over his rapidly beating heart. “Relax okay? I’m not running from you but you can’t run from me either deal?” she started as a small bead of sweat began to form over his very handsome brow. 

He nodded against his well formed bicep, “Sorry honesty is a new one for me,” he admitted with shame. 

She wrinkled her nose and admitted, “I can sorta relate.” 

His forehead furrowed, “How so?” 

She sighed, “Well you know I have no real family to speak of right? 

“Yeah, Lyla told me when she hired you why?” 

“Well,” she stammered, “When I was about ten I was doing what I was always doing.” She took a deep breath and swallowed her jumbled emotions. “I love books which as Thea will tell you is an understatement.” She saw his chest rise with laughter so she kept going. “I used to sneak into my Uncles library. He had every book under the sun and even some that would have left Jupiter feeling jealous but my cousin felt that my mere presence was unwarranted amongst his father’s items. So he beat me up which as you’ll recall I did mention when you had me pinned to a wall.” She saw Oliver’s eye flicker as he reflected upon the moment. She saw his lips curve and something in her stomach jumped at the mere sight of this man remembering a moment that had meant everything to her. Her voice wavered when she pressed on. “Sometimes it was small like a belt to the wrist or a book thrown at the small of my back but other times it was far worse.”

Again she watched his eyes and couldn’t help but feel loved when they flickered in instant rage. He trailed the pad of his index finger over the nearly invisible scar at  the edge of her hairline with such emotion that it nearly broke her heart all over again. “He’s responsible for that scar near the edge of your right temple isn’t he?” he gulped in horrific understanding. 

Felicity nodded very slowly, “So you did notice,” she asked while she let the yes remain silent. 

Oliver inched closer so there was maybe an inch between their faces. “How did he do it?” he asked her very softly with a pained expression. 

Felicity swallowed back a choked sob that made her chest burn and whispered, “He used a fire poker that time.” 

“I want to hold you...” Oliver openly begged as she let him very tenderly pull her closer. She nuzzled her face into his warm, very solid chest as his strong arms anchored her healing form to his own. “I’m so sorry baby,” he whispered against her forehead as he gently caressed her neck. She clutched at the fabric of his shirt in silent thanks as he rubbed his other hand over the line of her spine. 

“So you can see why I chose boarding school right?” 

Oliver very carefully gave her a gentle squeeze, “Is that why you don’t trust people?” 

“It’s a reason,” she explained, “but mainly it was just my life. I mean the school wasn’t much better. I was picked on by student and teacher alike. I always felt alone and isolated so when I found you I sort of...” 

“Freaked out?” he suggested with humor. 

She smiled into his collarbone, “Yeah basically,” she giggled with a sense of relief. “No one’s ever touched me the way you,” she mused aloud while he continued to run this fingers through her blonde mop of hair.

His whiskers grazed over her temple when he let out a small sigh, “Not to break the moment but I really want to know why I’m even allowed to touch you much less hold you.” 

Felicity stretched out her cramped toes and mulled over her next words. “You’ll think I’m crazy,” she pointed out before going over the reasons why she should have run. The rumble of muffled laugher from deep within his chest made her cheek vibrate. His soft, “Well you’ve stayed through all my crazy,” made her feel a pang of twisted guilt. 

“Keep in mind I was hallucinating,” she warned him as he continued to laugh quietly in response. She rolled her eyes and glared at his bobbing throat before she gulped, “I was watching the video...” 

Oliver’s hand stilled over her back, “I’m not going to like this am I?” he finally asked with dread. 

She pushed her forehead into his chin and gave him a slight groan, “I wasn’t ready to face you.” 

Oliver’s lips fell to the crown of her head, “Makes sense,” he grumbled sadly. 

“Yeah,” she agreed. “You busted my heart into about a million pieces but as my mind so very kindly reminded me I was always going to forgive you...” She went silent again before she felt him rubbing her back softly. She felt his fear though the slightest touch and knew it was now or never. With her hands still coiled tightly in the fabric of his shirt she blurted out, “I saw Tommy, my mind created him to make a very direct point.” 

Oliver’s silence was very telling but the hesitant, “why?” was worse. 

“He was your brother and...” 

“And he would have seen you for who you were.” Oliver breathed. 

Felicity just nodded against his chin mumbling, “I’d seen him on the video and he was comforting, and kind, and...” 

“And he told you what kind of man I was.” 

Oliver’s interruption was like a dagger to the heart. “Yeah,” she admitted. “He showed me I was right to believe in you. She could feel him brooding so she decided that one last piece of information wouldn’t hurt. She nudged at his throat with her nose then whispered very quietly, “I also said that I love you and its forever.”

“Did you say that to Tommy?” he asked very quietly.

She grinned madly, “No by then I was ready to see you.”

“I really don’t deserve you,” he muttered solemnly.

Felicity disagreed, “No I was right when I had a vision of you telling me to grow up.” She felt Oliver’s chest rise like he was ready to for a long debate so she cut him off my pulling his chin down with her thumb and kissing him softly. She could feel his body shift from being confused to being completely consumed. His touch was still gentle but she could feel the undercurrent of unspoken desire when the pads of his fingers brushed tentatively down her face. When they parted her cheeks were rosy and his lips were smiling.

He pecked the corner of her mouth then breathed, “I never thought I’d get to kiss you again.”

She just mumbled in reply, “I had a rough life and yes what you did was wrong but I’ve done things I regret as well,” she swallowed and felt her throat burn. “I love you and that’s a big deal for me do you understand that?” she finally asked.

He pressed his forehead to hers and nodded wordlessly. “You’re my family you understand me?” she demanded softly. “You’re part of me and that means if you ever lie to me again I will leave you and never come back got it?”

Oliver quietly answered, “Yes,” and then added, “I think it’s time for me to give you the rest of my story do you agree?”

Another ten seconds later she gave him a very quick, “Yes.”  

* * *

 

Oliver closed his eyes...he let his mind wonder before daring to tell her the part of the story that not even Lyla knew. He shut the rest of the world away and let the memories of that day once again pass through his tortured mind. 

_Oliver didn’t want to move. His ears were still ringing from the night before and, his skin was still sticky from the spilled whiskey that also left the air stale. He could still hear Tommy’s voice as he begged through the dorm’s door. “Ollie please! Look I know the happy brothers thing it’s all an act but on some level you know I’m right! You know she’s capable of doing this to me!”_

_His eyes slid to the crack at the bottom of the door where the damn files still laid. He could still hear the desperation in Tommy’s voice when the file appeared on his side of the door. “Thea’s your sister too Ollie, she’s our one common bond so if you won’t do this for me than please do this for her...”_

Oliver opened his eyes and saw Felicity’s’ crystal blue eyes looking at him with a vague sense of concern. “Hey where did you go?” she asked out of concern. 

He just ran his fingers down the side of her face while she trailed hers over his dip of his waist. “I was thinking,” he finally answered after three minutes of her staring at him with questions running rapidly through her finally bright eyes. 

Of course she pushed for more. “Come on you have my story or at least a fairly good amount and yet I’m still missing a rather large piece of yours so...” her voice faded when his eyebrows rose in humor. 

“You know how old I was when I found out about Thea so you can probably gauge how well that information was handled,” he offered very carefully. 

She gave him the Felicity eye roll and lightly smacked his side, “What part of you lie to me again and I leave was unclear?” 

His laughter was a rare sound but meeting her made it seem like a friend had come for a month long visit. “Okay, okay,” he chuckled loudly. “Tommy and I were close before I knew that’s true but I grew distant after a camping trip when I was around 10 or maybe even 11,”  he stopped talking when Felicity’s gaze grew concerned. “Hey did I say something wrong?” he asked quickly as he stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. 

She mumbled, “You saw the exchange didn’t you...” 

Oliver’s eyes grew wide, “No one knew about that except for...”

“Moira and Rebecca,” she interrupted with a razor sharp sense of clarity. 

Oliver sputtered almost tonelessly, “She told you about the deal?” 

Felicity nodded and was quick to point out in an aggravated tone, “You said you didn’t know about Thea until you were 15.” 

Oliver choked on his words before he realized, “Well you know more now than I did then because all I heard was the part about Tommy and how he was my half brother.” 

Felicity muttered, “Sorry” apologetically which made Oliver’s smile seem to glow. 

“Thank you, but given my history I can’t really fault you for thinking the worst,” he offered which made her grumble, “keep going Sherlock”. 

He did as instructed with his fingers still trailing down the side of her face. “I listened as my mother went through every moment that I’d felt slighted by my father. She listed out why he missed my third birthday, or why instead of getting the car set that I’d asked for I instead received a fire truck set. She listed out every moment with me listening from behind a nearby tree and, Felicity after that day I no longer tried to be a good son I just...” 

“Lived up to what he already thought of you,” she finished for him. 

He tapped her nose with his index finger mumbling, “Yup so when Tommy showed up at my college dorm with the information that proved my one loving parent was actually not so loving I chose to...”

“Hide your head in the sand,” she again finished for him which made his dimples appear out of thin air. 

“I love that you know me that well,” he had to remark when she blushed and whispered, “You’re like opening my favorite book, it’s new and familiar all at once.” 

His smile remained while he slowly threaded his fingers through her hair. “Anyways by the time I actually looked over the file it was too late; John was there holding the video and I knew that no matter what he asked of me I’d end up doing it. I knew that I’d give up my life to make sure that his last wishes were honored,” he finished with a trapped breath. 

Giving her all that information was hard but watching her face crinkle at his words was nearly unbearable. Her eyes usually twinkled with unspoken words but now all they did was gaze at him in endless wonder. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were drawn into a confused line. He simply stared at her with anxiety while he continued to rub his fingers softly against her temple. She breathed raggedly then exhaled, “So let me line this up...” 

Oliver braced for the worst but acknowledged her need for clarity and simply said, “Okay.” 

She continued to knead at his waist while she mused silently for another few moments. He thought her need to touch him was a good sign so he remained deathly quiet well she composed her thoughts. 

“You knew that Moira had spoken to Rebecca but were unaware as to why?” 

He nodded slowly, “Yes,” he quickly remarked as she began making her mental checklist. 

“You found out about Tommy and I’m assuming you ran off after that?” 

Again he gave her a small, “Yes,” in response. 

“Fast forward to about five years later and you’re fifteen. Tommy and you have a fake relationship that if you’re being honest didn’t sit well with you and that’s when the truth of that night was revealed through I’m guessing either Tommy or maybe your father?” 

Oliver let his fingers slip to the side of her face as he breathed, “Tommy told me regardless of what anyone might say or think Tommy told me and I simply buried the facts away.” 

She lightly licked her lips and mumbled, “Then as your father begins to groom Tommy you begin to fade away into booze, parties and being an eternal mess up out of hurt feelings.” 

He admired her anger over what happened and chuckled, “You seem angrier about that than I do.” 

One eye roll later and she was back to her mental checklist. “Then life goes on he meets Laurel, falls in love, and prepares to take over as CEO for both companies while you let yourself flounder in college after college.” 

Again all he could do was nod and listen. “Then he shows up with no notice after years I’m assuming of little to communication?” 

“We did communicate but it was for show. I’d come home only when my mother demanded it. We’d pal around, we’d take tours with Thea and we’d play the happy family card but in private it was silence yes.” 

He watched her eyes process the information as it was added to her mental tally before she started again. “Then once he was aware of what Moira was really doing he asked for you to do the unthinkable which you did and now here we are in this mess because he wouldn’t turn her in?” 

Oliver smiled at her simplification of the matter then lightly asked, “You have two burning questions don’t you?” 

She pursed her lips and mumbled, “Three actually.” 

“Ask them,” he lightly urged with his fingers still grazing over her cheekbone. 

With hesitation she asked, “Your marriage to Laurel is over right?” 

With amused laughter he chuckled, “Yes the annulment papers were signed and delivered to the judge. Our sham marriage is done.” 

She weakly smiled then asked, “Why didn’t he just turn her in?” 

Oliver had often wondered that himself so he gave her the only answer he’d managed to come up with. “She was his brother’s mother and in the end I’m fairly certain he never imagined she’d really be able to convince Malcolm to end his life. Tommy was hopeful when it came to our family but in the end it’s that hope that got him killed. 

She shrugged in understanding then said, “Does anyone know how Rebecca or Malcolm really died?” 

“No,” he exhaled in regret. “She’s buried that information where I fear no one will ever be able to find it.” 

 After that she once again fell quiet. His mind was going over every possible reaction she might have but none of them matched with what she proposed next. 

He felt every nerve she had in her light touch as she gently mumbled out her last request. His breath hitched in this throat when her eyes stopped shimmering with unvocalized hope. His mouth ran dry as her lips parted and her trembling voice filled the room. “You lied to me because you were afraid that I couldn’t accept your truth,” he wanted to interject but something in the way she was mumbling made him instead take a breath. “You were going to marry me without letting me see the man you were, you did everything wrong when it came to us but,” his heart froze on that solitary but. “You did one thing right...” 

His stomach flipped and his fingers froze upon her skin. Her eyes once again began to sparkle as she said, “You trusted me to forgive you because you trusted me when I said I love you.” He so badly wanted to interrupt but again his hesitated when her lips curved into a very thoughtful smile. “Given that information I have a question and a request.” 

He eked out a very timid, “Anything you want is yours,” before she continued. 

“Will you marry me?” she asked almost breathlessly. 

He froze beside her. “Are you serious?” he gasped as she placed her hand over his heart. 

Laughing she replied, “First of all don’t make me laugh it hurts my chest, secondly yes I almost died and I did so with one thing on my mind.” 

Oliver poked a bit when asking, “And that was...” 

She caved with a slight wink and said, “Repeat after me...” 

His throat went dry, “You didn’t?” he immediately croaked.

She smiled shyly then repeated, “Repeat after me…”

Despite himself he felt the flush of his skin as it began to crawl past the collar of his shirt. His pulse was racing just like before when they were curled together on his bed. This bed while smaller still made his skin prickle with familiarity. He struggled with his words but still managed to ramble, “Well then Miss. Smoak give me something to repeat.”

He felt her fingers curl around the material of his button down shirt. His pectoral muscles jumped when her fingers brushed over the fading fabric. Her blue eyes danced beneath the halogen glow of the hospital bulbs as she took a long, deep breath. Her words felt jumbled and nervous as she too rambled, “This time let’s use the proper names?”

He nodded eagerly wanting to cement this relationship in any form that she’d allow. She gave him a very sweet smile then laughed out, “Okay then I’ll start. I Felicity take you Oliver Jonas Queen to be my lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health as long as we both shall live.”

Oliver swallowed the lump that had begun to form in his throat and repeated the words, “I Oliver take you Felicity Meghan Smoak to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, as long as we both shall live.”

The blue of her eyes became even brighter as her lone tear fell. He heard her sharp exhale when she sighed, “I’m still never promising to obey…”

Oliver laughed lowly, “I’d never marry you if you did Felicity.”

“Is that why you fell for me?” she asked quickly while her chance at complete honesty was fairly high.

He closed his eyes and kissed her smiling lips very slowly before letting his words tumble out against them, “I fell for the girl who put me in my place from the moment I laid on eyes on her.”

His heart exploded when her lips brushed over his with her whispered response, “You do realize that when we do this for real we’ll have to get the words right…”

Oliver was so entranced by how her lips felt that his senses were on overload. It was then in that blissful moment that he remembered she also had a request. “Hey, before I forget what was your request?” he asked by brushing his lips over her own once more.

She sighed then kissed him softly before replying, “You know the house in the woods?” 

He groaned, “After this week I’ll never forget it why?” 

“Well I want it rebuilt for Laurel,” she stated simply with no venom once so ever. 

He leaned back to fully gauge her reaction as his mouth fell slightly, “Are you serious?” 

“Yes, my sweet, dumbfounded broken record. That was going to be her home and once we’ve hired her a nurse and found the right combination of meds I want her to be able to live in it.” 

“Tommy would have loved you,” he remarked with a full heart and according to her a heartbreaking smile.

Felicity gave him her own very knowing smile saying, “I know,” like they’d been old friends. Oliver was sure that he’d never known happiness until that moment but something still weighed heavily on his heart. His relationship with Tommy had been many things but smooth had never been one of them.  Tommy was the son his father adored and frankly so did he. He started this entire mess simply to make amends. He wanted to fix his mistakes and by doing so he went and created an entirely new set of them. Felicity was his shot at a happily ever after and he’d nearly destroyed it until he dared to remember his brother’s parting words on the part of the tape that he knew Felicity didn’t see. He closed his eyes and waited for those once forgotten words to float easily through his mind.

_“Once you’ve found someone who can understand this saga and accept Laurel you’ll know what unconditional love is. Oliver once you’ve found that person don’t screw it up, let her in, and that’s when you’ll finally be able to forgive me; because despite everything I love you unconditionally and I hope you’ll realize one day that you did to.”_

He didn’t have to open his eyes or even take another glance into her’s to know that his brother once again was right.


	16. Part 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discliamer: No copyright infringement is intended. All original content is owned by Charlotte Bronte and the creators of Arrow.

 

 

**Chapter 16: Epilogue**

 

 

The room was filled with well wishers wearing layers of black shrouds worn only when someone had dared to depart from the Earth. Oliver himself stood before the growing crowd with nothing between him and the parade of false sentiments but a stage and the podium. Tapping the microphone carefully he cleared his throat and waited for the milling gaggles of people to stop whispering in their resonating hushed tones. 

Thousands of eyes fell upon him. Many were filled with disgust; very few were filled with grief. He scanned the tepid crowd until he found the one set of eyes that made his heart race in the best way possible. He cleared his throat once more and stepped closer to the pale wooden structure. His fingers banded over the smoothed edges while the various people began to shuffle towards the many empty pews. He swallowed harshly then let out a solemn, “Good Morning.” 

Whispers stopped instantly as the church was filled with sounds of clacking shoes and grumbled excuse me’s. Those bright blue eyes calmed his frayed nerves as he began to speak slowly into the microphone. 

“We are here today to mourn the passing of my mother Moira Queen.” 

If a pin dropped the sound of the point hitting the stone floors would have been deafening given the chilled temperature the room suddenly took. Her blue eyes glared at him soundly, silently warning him to do the right thing. 

With a pit in his stomach he grumbled beneath his breath, “You’re lucky I love you,” then pursed his lips before filling the room with empty words of a son whose heart was healed by the death of the woman they’d all gathered to mourn. “As many could tell you my mother was an unstoppable force.” He paused as a few well wishers chuckled in their stiff, reserved way. He found her face and smiled slightly when she mouthed, “See I told you.” 

Again he grumbled but this time it was so the entire room could hear. “My wife Felicity told me late last night that injecting some humor into eulogy would make this easier for us all.” Again the crowd laughed but this time it was with genuine feelings of good will instead of forced reactions. He grinned then winked to the woman in the front pew. “She’s in her second trimester so my nights often are filled with 3am cravings for pickles and ice cream isn’t that right honey?” 

She did the wave they practiced as they laid in bed. His head had been in her lap while her fingers slowly tracing along his scalp. She gave him her trademark wink and placed her hand on Thea’s shoulder as she struggled to stand. “Sorry everybody but I told my husband these shoes were too tight!” Again the crowd laughed making his nerves ease. With Thea’s hand in her own she did a small turn so all eyes were focused on her instead of him. “Moira and I had a relationship that was complicated.” Again the crowd cheered, “We had many ups and downs but one thing remained true,” all eyes fell on her as she bowed her head and laughed sadly. “Many stories have been told about the Queen matriarch and believe me most of them are true but what won’t be told or even mentioned was her capacity for love.” 

Oliver gulped and the sound echoed through the microphone disrupting the silence of the room. Felicity glanced at him with glistening eyes and held out her free hand, “We were never friends, we were never family we were simply foes but we both loved Oliver Queen.” 

By the time she said their last name he’d padded down the three stairs and had her hand wrapped in his own. He kissed her brow as he leaned into her side. She placed their joined hands over her growing stomach as she leaned her temple against his chin. “She told me three days before my wedding that if I was married long enough I’d learn three things.” The crowd was hanging on her every word while Oliver simply held on to her supple form like she was his only remaining tether to the world before him. He heard her tenor shift as her own mixed feelings for the deceased passed through the words she had so carefully rehearsed the night before. “Lesson one, love is infinite. You can always make more.” The crowd seemed to aww all at once as Thea’s mask of sadness cracked to reveal the undertone of happiness beneath. 

“Lesson Two,” she started with a tremor. “We hurt the ones we love, it’s sad but true. We put our loved ones through more grief and pain because in the end we know that love is the tie that binds.” He felt their child move beneath his touch like he or she was attempting to make their presence known.

“Lesson Three was the tough one,” she muttered before rubbing her palm over their moving offspring. “It was meant to be a warning I’m sure but I took it as one of her many emotional scars.” Even he felt himself leaning closer as she tried to swallow back her unshed tears. “She told me that he’d grow bored with me, that he’d cheat on me with a newer model once his mind needed a distraction from his humdrum life.” If his heart wasn’t already in tatters it was now. “The lesson wasn’t about pain it was about survival. She wanted me to have an identity outside of my husband but what she forgot is I already did.” 

If she didn’t have them hooked already she did now. “As I said,” she half laughed and half cried, “our relationship was complicated but even I can see past her flaws to her one constant truth. Love ruined her, but it also saved her. She was raised by parents with nothing and married into a world where it was given at a cost. She saw her cherished son was slighted and she reacted. She made thousands of mistakes and most of them were unforgivable but in then end the love that destroyed her also saved her. So remember her good moments no matter how few they might be and forgive the sins of a broken woman.” 

She fell silent after that leaving him to decide if he wanted to proceed or if she’d found the perfect ending for eulogy that he couldn’t bring himself to write. Kissing her brow once more he whispered a quick, “Thank you,” then said aloud to the crowd, “As you can see this is why she’s the public speaker in our family.” Laughter ensued and his parting words were forgotten as the well wishers began to move forward. Thousands of hands were touched, and many shoulders were patted. Felicity’s cheek must have been pink from the various shades of lipstick that had been left upon her skin as the service drew to its end. 

“Ummm babe?” Felicity whispered into his shoulder as they were being ushered the limo’s waiting outside. 

“Yeah honey?” he answered with a whisper to her ear. 

“I’m feeling queasy,” she admitted right before she lightly burped. She made a disgusted face and grunted, “Okay that was disgusting.” 

He snickered, “I’ll have the limo’s take us home after all she’s being cremated so we’re pretty much done here.” 

Felicity smiled gratefully and reached behind her for Thea’s hand. He looked over her head and noted that Thea was snuggled into Lyla’s side but, smiled when he saw the hand that fell easily into his wife’s open palm. 

“She’s with Lyla, Lissy but I could use a ride if you’re offering one?” 

Felicity smiled at her nickname and left the comfort of his one armed hug and fell into the loving arms of Laurel’s sisterly embrace. “I thought they wouldn’t let you come?” she asked before she buried her nose into Laurel’s shoulder. He simply shoved his now empty hands into his pockets and smiled at the pair. 

Your husband has a way with words,” she snickered against her hair. 

Felicity reached for his hand which he offered as she replied, “You paid off another doctor?” 

He laced their fingers and moved forward until her back was pressed to his chest. “What you needed a friend and her house won’t be ready for another three days...” 

“I love you,” was all he heard as he pressed a kiss to her temple. 

* * *

 

“Today was a difficult day for you no?” 

Oliver glanced at the open bathroom door and quietly said, “It would have been harder if you and the peanut weren’t there.” 

She gave him a sleepy smile while she rubbed her palms protectively over her growing stomach. “She would have hated this...” she breathed then added, “You know the two of us and of course the baby.” 

Oliver sat up a bit so the edges of his shoulder blades were pressed gently against the rumpled pillow that he’d placed along the headboard of the bed. She was still leaning into the door frame with her head cocked in a knowing stare. “Her death wasn’t exactly a tragic day Oliver...” she reminded him cautiously knowing how he felt about the events of that day. 

Sighing he relented, “No it wasn’t.” 

He shifted again then folded his arms across his bare chest. Felicity leaned her temple into the door frame and moved the conversation further. “She disowned you when we got married; and she died when you finally gathered up enough courage to visit her in prison to tell her about the baby.” 

Groaning he shut his eyes, “I know but, Felicity I still think she was doing what was easiest for her.” 

“How so?” she asked quietly in the tone that still made his stomach jump with longing. 

Smiling he replied, “She thought that hating her was easy.” He could see her face without having to open his eyes. “They sentenced her to life in prison,” he gulped, “They shut her away and it would have been so easy to just let her rot but you my loving wife wouldn’t let it be.” 

She didn’t grumble like she normally did, she simply sighed, “Your heart couldn’t heal unless you’d given her a chance at forgiveness.” 

“My heart healed the moment you said I do,” he admitted when he finally opened his eyes. “My heart expanded when you told me about our daughter,” he added in earnest as she began to walk forward. 

She waited until her knees were at the edge of the bed before saying, “Oliver I’m in my second trimester, hell I’m starting to waddle and you refused to tell her...” 

“Yeah and look what happened when I went to tell her!” he argued as she slowly lowered herself down to the bed. Oliver inched closer so her head could easily rest on his chest. She kissed the underside of his jaw before he felt the edge of her shoulder lying snuggly over his upper chest. Her hair was fanned out over his shoulder when she mumbled, “She probably died from the shock.” 

Oliver chuckled despite himself, “Nice...” 

She giggled, “What you weren’t even at her sentencing!” 

“I was too!” he argued. 

“Yeah in the damn car!” she countered. 

His chest deflated, “She almost killed you, and she did kill Tommy. She was an awful woman and yes the idea of our child being in the presence of that sort of evil was stomach churning.” 

“I know but Oliver....” she started only for him to finish her thought. 

“But she was my mother and today I had to say goodbye.” 

Nodding she said, “Yeah so just admit it, today was hard for you.” 

Gulping he lightly croaked, “Today was hard for me, but at the same time it was also cathartic.” 

She tilted her head over his rising and falling chest, “So you’ve made your peace with this whole mess?” 

He glanced into those beautiful blue eyes and smiled slowly, “Felicity you’re my peace you and the peanut.” 

She reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. “So...changing the subject how did you get Laurel a furlough for today?” 

He laughed so hard that her head bobbed up and down against his chest. “I just asked if she was mentally strong enough to attend and then explained how I felt today would allow her to close the book on her past. They agreed so they gave Lyla her medication schedule and just like that she was given a three day furlough which means...” 

“If she does well then she doesn’t have to go back?” she asked in pure excitement. 

“Yeah baby she doesn’t have to go back if it all goes well.” 

Felicity craned her neck upwards so Oliver bent his own. Right before his lips touched hers she whispered, “You’ve made me so happy.” 

He whispered back as their lips brushed together, “You made me whole.” They shared a slow kiss before he watched his wife fall asleep with her head resting comfortably atop his chest. 

* * *

 

10 years later....

“Mom?” 

Felicity shot her daughter a quick glance before her eyes flew back to her two younger brothers. “Yeah baby?” she replied softly when she saw the back of Tommy’s head flying past the open library door. 

“When will I be old enough to hear about how you and daddy fell in love?” 

Felicity dropped the books she’d been holding and gulped, “What?” 

Rebecca began chewing on her bottom lip before mumbling, “Well Aunt Thea said it was an amazing story and I was just wondering....” 

Felicity sighed in a mixture of annoyance and relief. “I’m going to kill Thea and why were you asking?” 

She leaned forward and picked up the fallen books just as a loud crash sounded through the hall. She yelled, “Thomas! Jonathan! I swear if you’ve broken another one of Mommy’s vases then you’ll be grounded for the next month!” 

All she heard in response was her husband’s calm reply, “I’ve got em babe you can stay with Becca.” 

Felicity swallowed a low growl and shot her daughter a confused glance, “Baby why did Aunt Thea tell you that?” 

Her daughter who thankfully hadn’t inherited her husband’s talent for lying began to do what Felicity herself was known for... she began to wring her hands. “Well I found a book....” she squeaked just as Felicity fell into her seat. 

“You found a book?” she questioned carefully. 

Becca nodded very slowly as she pushed the tattered journal forward. Felicity didn’t instantly recognize the torn, brown cover but still a shiver ran straight up her spine. She reached out and lightly lifted the leather cover; Becca froze as their fingers touched. Felicity smiled gently at her daughter, “Sweetie do you know who this belongs to?” 

Again Becca bit at her lower lip before she very quietly answered, “It belongs to Grandma...” 

Felicity’s heart froze as her skin paled. She very carefully lifted the cover and scanned over the delicate scrawl of the first page. “To my grandchild whomever you might one day be...” Her lips were quivering as her eyes scanned over the page. “This is your story; this is how you came to be and, how I almost stopped it from happening.” 

Her body shuddered when she saw the date along the page’s bottom edge...she shot her daughter a careful look as Becca said, “Aunt Thea went to see her in prison three days before she died mom.” 

Felicity gaped, “So... you ummm...well...okay honey help mommy out!” 

Becca cracked an easy smile and explained. “I was going through the books like I do every afternoon.” Felicity nodded since this was after all her daughter. “Well anyways I was about to give up on finding an unread book when I found Aunt Thea in the back room, you know where you and Daddy sometimes disappear too.” Felicity coughed slightly but managed to choke out, “Please continue.” Becca obeyed, “Well anyways I saw the journal and she told me that it belonged to Grandma. She said that the book was meant for me, that it was to help me understand why she was gone. I said okay and asked if I should tell you about it.” 

“And her response?” Felicity asked as she paled. 

“She said the book was going to give me the facts but only you could give me the story.” 

Felicity smiled as she flipped past the first page, “You really want to hear this story?” 

Becca nodded eagerly, “But before you tell it can I go get Dad, Tommy, Jonathan, and maybe Aunt Lyla?” 

Felicity reached into her pocket and punched out a text to Oliver then placed the phone on the table. “How about we get everyone?” 

Becca’s eyes widened, “So Aunt Thea, Uncle Digg, and even Aunt Laurel?” 

Felicity nodded, “Yeah baby this is our family’s story so maybe we should all tell our own parts.” 

Becca jumped out of her chair and ran straight into her mother’s waiting arms. Felicity laughed happily when her daughter mumbled happily, “Your stomach is getting in the way again.” 

“Well wait about four more months,” she commented as she pulled her ten year old into her disappearing lap. 

Becca snuggled into the hug as the sounds of her six year old twins came bounding down the still very narrow stairs. Oliver’s laughter could be heard as Laurel yelled, “Come on guys! You two are going to get me in trouble!” Thea walked in with Lyla and John came in shortly thereafter holding their seven year old daughter’s hand. 

Becca jumped off her mother’s lap when she spotted her father. She ran into his waiting arms and giggled when her brothers each attempted to tickle her sides. Felicity just sat there in her oversized chair smiling at the scene before her. She then glanced back at the journal and smiled at the opening line....

“My name is Moira Queen and I’m your grandmother.” 

“Are you sure about this?” Oliver asked as he bent down to press a kiss to her cheek. 

She leaned into his half embrace, “No but has that ever stopped me?” 

He ginned into her skin then whispered, “No...” 

Felicity was about to reply when she heard Tommy groan from his father’s side, “Oh God they’re kissing again.” 

The entire room erupted in joyous laughter as Felicity reached for her young son. He crawled onto her lap and snuggled into her chest. She murmured into his blonde hair, “I love you sweetie.” 

He mumbled back, “Story time mommy....” 

Felicity smiled once more. Her life as her children were about to find out was often fraught with heartache but now as she sat in a room filled with her beautiful family she found she no longer cared. Oliver told her right before Becca was born that her experiences had made her the woman he loved and that he wouldn’t change a thing. Looking back at it Felicity decided neither would she. She would of course edit out certain details like how horrible Tommy’s death had been, and she’d let Laurel decide how much of her condition she wanted revealed. Oliver’s side would be the hardest to make kid friendly but as they’d discussed many years before the truth was going to come out eventually so it should come from them.  Once everyone was settled and her husband’s arm was wrapped around her shoulders she finally began...

“Well my dear babies this is the story of The Governess and her journey to finding her true home.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say thank you. @lalawo1 you my new friend wanted a Jane Eyre fic and I guess I answered your call! I was nervous and overwhelmed each time I went to post a chapter and each time I was overcome by how many people reached out with kind words and wonderful remarks. I met @hope-for-olicity and @oliverfel4 because of this fic. I also got to know other bloggers such as @vaelisamaza @almondblossomme even better and my list truly could go on. This was such a fun fic to write and while I changed quite a few things I still think the fic worked. I have so many voices of encouragement such as @memcjo @miriam1779 @diggo26 @mel-loves-all @rivaroma @coal000 and again I’m sure the list could go on. I love this fandom and I love my happy bubble so again thank you for all the love and I hope you enjoy the end of our little journey. Also @supersillyanddorky06 you are my fic writing rock!

**Author's Note:**

> Like what you see? Say hi to me on tumblr @laurabelle2930


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